Kampfer: The Journey
by UNSC Spirit of Fire
Summary: More and more Reds and Blues are calling truce all over the world, and in response the Moderators are producing more and more White Kampfers to keep the war going. But after a human kills a White Kampfer, a rebellious Moderator turns the man into the first and only Green Kampfer, and sets him on a path to destroy The System and fundamentally change him forever.
1. Prologue

**Ladies and gentlemen, UNSC**** Spirit of Fire**** here with a new story, in coordination with **Noble Scotsman**! I just watched this show, found it awesome, figured out that the Scotsman liked it, and we decided to write something about it. We'll see where it goes from here. Review with your thoughts/ideas, and as always, enjoy the show!**

The Beginning

May 8th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

I slumped over my desk and heaved forth a sigh.

_Finally done with that god…..DAMN….. essay._ I thought to myself. I looked at the clock, which read 1:15 a.m.

"Jesus Christ I'm tired." I said quietly.

I debated with myself on what I wanted to sleep in before just deciding to crash in my shorts. I went to my bathroom, adjacent to my bedroom, to brush my teeth, and when I finished, I looked at myself in the mirror. A 6 foot tall, well-built American male with short dark red hair and deep blue eyes stared back, the angular jaw line and cheekbone adding a certain level of masculine charm. I started to relax as I walked back to my bed, killing the lights and lying down, staring at the ceiling. Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours.

_Man, today blew. And it was my nineteenth birthday, as well._

I once again went supine and stared at the ceiling before turning to the clock, which read 1:45 a.m. Fearing the loss of what little sanity I clung to, I got up, put a shirt on, and walked over to a book shelf with 5 shelves, 3 of which were filled with books, and the rest filled with knives, everything from pocket folders to fixed blade combat knives. I chose one, a Remington Tango II fixed blade combat knife, sheathed it and locked it to my belt before leaving my room.

_Maybe a little fresh air and a walk will help._ I walked out into the main house and out the back door into the yard. 25 yards away was a fence, and beyond the fence was a large open grass field, the picnic ground for a massive private park, perhaps a mile or so square. I hopped the fence, an act normally illegal if the night guard wasn't my best friend. I strolled past the trees, a warm Arizona night breeze blowing, relaxing my mind and my body.

_Only in early summer-time Phoenix does this kind of air exist…_ I thought.

Suddenly, something appeared in front of me, rolling out from behind a tree, forcing me to stop. I observed the silhouette, which had the shape of a rather pretty girl holding a….

_Is that a Glock 18?!_ I think in shock.

She hastily raised the weapon and began to fire in my direction, the hail of machine pistol bullets forcing me to dive to cover behind a nearby tree. I drew my blade at the realization that live rounds were in use. I quickly noticed that she was shooting at someone who had been standing behind me, another girl, who wielded a saber and expertly evaded the rounds. She charged the gunner and threw a cut, which the other girl was too slow to avoid. She fell at the feet of the saber girl. I stared on, adrenaline keeping the fear at bay as the girl spun around to look in my direction.

_Shit._ I thought.

She charged my cover, and I turned and ran. She caught up with me quickly, and I ducked and weaved around her, avoiding her saber with the dexterity of a skilled fighter. She directed a thrust at my belly, which I slapped away with my free hand before charging and throwing a cut at her throat. She retreated, fast enough to save her throat, but not fast enough to avoid receiving a small cut on her upper chest.

We stood apart from each other, turning in a circle, calculating the other's next move. We charged, her saber swinging toward my head. I ducked down under it, my arm up to guard my head, and threw a cut to her side, which connected and drove deep before tearing through. She screamed and fell to the ground, her saber on the floor and her hands on her side, crying and cringing in pain. I looked at her, honestly surprised I had connected. To confirm, I looked at my knife, still held backhand, and found her blood on the blade.

"How did you beat me?" she stammered through the pain.

I just stared, shocked that I had just severely injured this girl, and even further stymied that she could still speak.

"Who are you?" I asked back, somewhat shaky. "What the hell is going on?"

"The girls you've just encountered are Kampfers. They are superhuman beings, chosen and made specifically to fight each other, but there is no final victory." A deep, booming voice came from all around me.

"What the fuck?" I asked aloud.

"The fact that you, an ordinary human, was able to beat a White Kampfer so easily is testament to your strength. You will be my instrument of action on Earth, Virgil." The voice resumed.

"You know my name? What the hell is this?!" I screamed.

* * *

I came to a sudden awakened state, sitting bolt upright in my bed, my breathing heavy. Drenched in sweat, I sat without a shirt, wildly looking around my room. It took me a moment to calm the heartbeat that thudded through my head like gunfire. I was alright.

_What a strange dream._ I thought. It was at this point I realized my alarm was ringing. I got up and shut it off before stumbling into the bathroom. I turned on the sink and splashed my face with water. I felt something on my wrist, almost like a bracelet. I looked at my wrist and found a simply designed dark green bracelet around it.

"What's this? I don't recall ever having something like this before." I tried to take it off, but it wouldn't budge. Try as I might, I could not slide, pull, or tug it off of my wrist. The minutes rolled by as I tried again and again to remove it, or at least get it to budge.

_Shit! I'll be late for school!_ The thought kicked me into gear as I jumped in the shower, dried off, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and threw on my school clothes, consisting of shorts, a collared shirt, and a thin sweater over that to cover the bracelet. Grabbing my bag, my phone, my wallet, and my car keys, I bolted into the garage, opened the trunk of my Subaru STI WRX, hastily threw my things inside, opened the garage door and sped away, arriving to school just in time.

Upon my return home, I hastily ran back to my room, shut the door, tossed my things at the foot of my desk to the left of my bed, and sat down, my arm in front of me, the sleeve pulled back, to look at the strange bracelet.

"What is this?" I asked aloud.

"It is the mark of a Kampfer." A voice came from directly behind me. I instantly stood and turned to face the voice, but I didn't see anything.

"Who is that?" I asked calmly.

_This voice is familiar. Could it be the voice from the dream? Am I still dreaming? Have I lost my mind?_

"I am a Moderator, one the creators of Kampfers." The voice responded.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Allow me to explain."

"Is there a way I can see you? I feel psychotic talking to something I can't see." I stated.

"Very well. I will take a physical form for your comfort, but in return you must remain silent and listen to me."

"Alright. I'll hear you out." I said, still doubtful.

A body began to form in front of me out of thin air. The final image it took was that of a large man covered in tattoos and markings from far off lands, scars from engagements interspersed, adding to the dynamism in his appearance. The man had a kind demeanor to him, with eyes as deep as the night sky, seeming to contain knowledge of all things seen and unseen.

"I'll start with myself. As I said before, I am a Moderator, and it is my task to turn humans into Kampfers and keep them fighting each other until a clear victor is chosen. This has been occurring for quite some time now. While I never truly agreed to it, I could not do anything on my own, so I waited it out and followed my orders. However, now that the Moderators are directly interfering with the flow of the battle for their own gain, I cannot stand by. I must act, but I cannot do it myself in the human world; it is not my place. That is where you come in. You may have noticed the bracelet on your left wrist. All Kampfers have a bracelet just like it, and its color indicates what team they are on. It used to be a fight between just Red and Blue, but occasionally the Moderator Whites have been factored in. In recent times, as more Red and Blue battle grounds call truce, more and more Whites are being produced in order to put the war 'back on track'."

"But mine is Green, and there are no other Green Kampfers, right?"

"Correct. You are the first, and there will be no others."

"Are these White Kampfers a faction of human Kampfers more directly linked to the Moderators?"

"No, the White Kampfers are projections of humans, created and controlled by the Moderators directly. But, I digress, you are the instrument in my plan."

"What is your plan?"

"Let me explain the details behind the war on Earth. In a galaxy immeasurably far from this one, a battle between Red and Blue is being waged, and the Moderators serve as intermediaries. The fighting got too intense, so the Moderators decided to stage a proxy battle in a different location that would decide the victor. That proxy battle is here, and whatever happens here will be reflected in the actual war. While the Moderators did once serve as intermediaries, they have since come to assume a radically different position. They have begun to benefit from the war, and will do anything to keep it going, and this does not sit well with me. My objective is to stop the war as soon as possible, however a clear victor would prove their method of settling fights effective, and that benefit the Moderators greatly. I will not allow this to happen, but as I said before, I cannot directly intervene. However, I can insert a wild card: You. You are my instrument, and your task as such will be to draw this war to a close without presenting a clear victor."

"How can I do that? This is a lot to ask! Not to mention the impossibility of success for your plan!" I said incredulously.

"How you do it is up to you."

"Alright, let's say I were to take you up on this. I still don't know exactly what I'm going in to or what I'm doing. Could you help me get my bearings?"

The figure in front of me smiled.

"I will tell you this: you are special in more than 1 way. I have imparted a few of my abilities to you, which will allow you to do things the others cannot. However, I will let you discover those abilities on your own."

"But I don't know how. I don't know where to begin. I don't know what to do." I said dejectedly.

"Why so sad now, when you are needed most to act? You have been granted something extraordinary, and a path into the unknown awaits you, a path that was meant for you and you alone. There can be no place for fear in your heart now. You must become grounded within yourself, your true self, and all will be revealed. Accept this challenge."

I am struck silent by his words.

"This is your task on Earth, Virgil. None other can do it but yourself, none other can fill the gap that would be left if you were to back down. You cannot submit. You cannot falter. You must fight. You will fight! It is yours to do, and yours alone! Stand up and fight, Virgil!" he stood and stretched a hand out toward me. I think for a moment before taking his hand and standing.

"If it is mine to do, and no one else can do it, then I shall do my duty. If it is my path to take, I will take it because no one else can. I shall orient myself on this path, trusting myself to do what I can, and that I will do it with all of my heart. I will fight because I am called to, and if I do not answer the call, no one will. I will be your instrument."

The Moderator smiled at me.

"You are brave, Virgil. Very brave. Be strong, trust in your abilities, find your true self. These things will grant you true strength. Stay true, and you shall find victory always by your side, even in death. You must find your path and follow it. Though you may sometimes lose the path, it is always there, and though you will not see me, I am always with you. Good-bye, Mark Virgil Holiday. May safety and peace follow you, wherever your journey may take you."

With that, he disappeared. But I was unafraid. I was ready to follow my path, regardless of whatever I should meet on it. I was ready to fight. I looked down at my bracelet, not with bewilderment but with determination.

_Disjointed, but with purpose._ I thought to myself.

"I have work to do."


	2. Chapter 1

**UNSC Spirit of Fire here with Chapter 1 of Kampfer: The Journey! It's slightly longer, but this is where things start to get interesting. Enjoy!**

Intro to Kampfer

May 9th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

"Finally, the weekend has arrived! Time to figure out how to use this freakin' bracelet!" I said to myself as I walked through my campus to the parking lot, my backpack slung over one shoulder. Fridays were half-days at my school, with release at 12:05 rather than 2:50, and it came as a relief to all.

"Hey, you! Red hair," a girl's voice called me from behind. I turn around. "Yeah, you!" She ran towards me. I watched her as she ran. She was quite pretty. Bleach blonde hair, a skirt that barely met the school's standard, shapely body, rather well-endowed…

_Blue bracelet. A Kampfer? Shit._ I act nonchalant as I walk toward her, meeting her as she came to a stop.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Virgil. And you are…?" I say politely as I offer her my dominant right hand.

"Kyra. I need to talk to you about something…" she trailed off.

"What's on your mind, Kyra?"

"Well, you live alone, right?" she asked, blushing slightly at the question.

"Yes, why?"

"Could I maybe pass the afternoon with you there? I'll explain on the ride over."

"Now hold on, Kyra. I just met you, I don't know you, and you-" I was cut off by her suddenly wrapping her arms around me, her head buried in my chest. I'm taken aback, my hands held above my shoulders in shock. "Hey, Kyra, this is a little overboard, don't you think?"

"Please? I promise I'll be good!" she said cutely. I loosen up a bit.

"It's not a matter of good or not. Why are you so intent to get to my house?" I ask.

"Because you have that nice house near a private park, and I think it'd be a good place to talk."

"You're being very vague."

"My friends will meet us there. We just want to talk to you. That's all," she pushed against me harder, her whole body against mine. I tighten back up. "But it's too far for me to walk, and taking the bus is scary, so I thought you could drive me. After we talk, you won't have to do anything else with me." She started to shake, and I was barely keeping it together, starting to blush a little.

"Alright, I'll drive you. Could you let go of me now?" I asked.

"Yay!" she jumped away, a triumphant smile on her face.

_Jesus Christ…._ I thought.

"Follow me. My car's this way." I said.

"Ok!" she bounced along off to my side, still smiling. We arrive at my car, and she finally stops bouncing.

"Nice ride!" she said cheerfully.

"Thanks," I say as I open the trunk. "The door's open. Hop in."

As I take my seat behind the wheel, she's looking intently at the dashboard and the control panel by my right leg.

"You drive a stick?" she asks excitedly.

"I do."

"Oooo, you must be good with your hands."

"You may want to buckle up." I said as we pulled up to the intersection from our school to the street and waited for a chance to turn in.

"Why's that?" she asked defiantly.

"Because I drive a little…crazy."

"Oh please, you think I've not driven in-" The sound of my engine revving cuts her off as we snap around the turn into the street, hitting 25 MPH by the end of the turn. I hear her shriek as the needle nears 50 not 2 seconds after the turn, and I swap from second to fourth gear and slow down to 40.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. This little rally car has some serious punch."

"Yeah…" she stammered, slowly reaching for her seat belt and locking herself to the chair.

I pulled the car into the garage and turned it off as we got out. I walked to the trunk and grabbed my things before leading her inside.

"Thanks…for the…ride." She said, barely putting the words together.

"From the looks of it, you'd rather have taken the bus."

"No, that was actually a lot of fun. Just….different. No one's made my heart beat that fast before," she clung to my arm. "The girl who gets to be with you will have the best relationship ever!"

"You grab a lot, huh?"

"Just to guys I think are cute. Why, is it a problem?" she looks at me and smiles.

_I honestly can't say no, considering…_ I thought. I swallow nervously, which makes her giggle as she lets go.

"When will you friends be at the park?" I ask as I set my bag down by my desk. She sits on my bed, smiling.

"After nightfall." She said nonchalantly.

"After….nightfall?" I stammer back. Her smile gets wider.

"Mhmm!"

"Ah. Alright. In that case, I have a question for you."

"Yes?" she bats her eye lashes at me.

"The bracelet on your wrist. You're a Kampfer, aren't you?" her demeanor changes from bubbly to serious instantly.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, I am too. But I'm Green. You're Blue. Is that what you and your friends want to talk about?"

"Yes, and a few other things. But I'll let Linda handle that part of the talk. How'd you come by a Green bracelet?" she asked.

"No idea. I saw 2 girls fighting, a saber against a pistol, one got killed, the survivor charged me, and I killed the survivor. Next thing I know I wake up with this." I respond. Not the whole truth, but still the truth.

"The girl with the pistol was my younger sister, Amy. That White bitch targeted her, waited for her to go off on her own, and went after her."

"Did Amy make it?"

"No." her voice started to shake as she looked at the floor.

"Kyra, I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" A tear fell to the ground. "It wasn't your fault. I let her run off. If I hadn't done that, she'd still be alive, or at least we'd both be dead. Why did I let her go?" Her hands flew to her face as she began to sob. I looked on, somewhat lost on how to respond.

_Staring never helped a thing._ I thought.

I got up, walked to my bed, and sat down next to her, an arm around her shoulder. She started to cry, leaning against me.

"You'll be alright." I said calmly.

"How do you know? You don't know what it's like to lose someone important to you!" This comment strikes me, and for the first time in ages, I looked at the double picture frame on my desk, inside of which rests a picture of my parents, and another picture of my uncle and his girlfriend.

"I do. While it's not the same situation, I have been where you are. But I realized that I still lived, and so I vowed to live my life for them. That's how I know you'll be ok," I say as I look back down at her and she pulls her gaze up to me. "Because you'll come to do the same." At this, she cries all the harder, clinging to my arm in her sadness.

_It's been a long time since I've been there, but I'll never forget it. Because it made me who I am._ The memory of something the Moderator said came to me: "Stand up and fight." I smile, sitting there while Kyra cried on my arm.

* * *

I finished my homework as the dying afternoon sun filtered through the blinds on the window my desk sat under. Finally free, I leaned back in my chair, stretching my shoulders before looking over the sleeping Kyra on my bed.

_She'll be there a while. Perhaps I should let her be._ I stood and quietly left, shutting the door behind me before walking a short distance down the hall to another room. The inside had a tiled floor and uneven foam panels all over the walls, door, and ceiling for sound-proofing. There were no windows, and nothing was on the floor except 2 amplifiers, one for bass and another for guitar, a number of effect pedals, a Line 6 POD HD 500 channel board, and a guitar rack, upon which sat 4 guitars in all, 2 electric basses and 2 electric guitars. Next to the rack was a single guitar stand with a 12-string electric acoustic guitar.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the acoustic, pulled the strap over my shoulder, and grabbed a pick from atop an amp. My eyes closed for a few seconds as I cleared my head, and I began to play, the guitar vibrating and reverberating the sound, creating a grand, sonorous tone that filled me with focus and peace. At some point I had opened my eyes, but I did not notice when it happened, such was the trance I was in, losing myself in the music. The world around me stopped existing, and only three things mattered: myself, the guitar, and the sounds we made. Eventually, the song came to a close, the pick in my hand strumming the final chord.

I looked up in complete surprise when I heard hands clapping and saw Kyra standing by the door. She must've come in while I was playing.

"That was beautiful." She said, enchantment in her voice.

"Thanks." I say sheepishly, not used to people hearing or complimenting on my playing.

"What's that song called?"

"I made it up. It has no name."

"You improvised that?" she asked in shock. I nodded yes and turned around to put the guitar back on its stand, and the pick back on its amp. I heard giggling from behind me.

"What?" I ask as I turn around.

"The girl that ends up with you will have the best lift ever." She smiled at me, and I blushed like hell and looked at the floor. "Wanna go to the park? My friends should be there soon."

"I thought you said they'd be there after nightfall." I said, confused.

"The sun's almost down. Nightfall is upon us. Let's go!" she cutely said.

"Man, time flies. Alright, let's go." I responded. I take the lead down the hall and turn to enter my room.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"I've gotta get something. One sec." I walk over to the book shelf and grab the Remington again.

_This knife saved my ass. You're my default, my fine friend._ I thought. I quickly lock it to my hip, move back into the hall, and lead her out the back door to the fence, which I thoughtlessly and effortlessly hopped.

"Um…" I heard from behind me.

"What's up?" I said as I turned around.

"Well, my skirt is gonna be what's up if I try to hop this…" she said nervously.

_I don't think I'd mind TOO much if that happened, but she does have a point._

"Don't you have shorts on underneath?" I asked, instantly feeling stupid for asking, the look she gave me not helping.

"You think a playful, sexy girl like me has time for shorts?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sorry. Let's see here…" I look up and down the fence for a gate, but since the park is private property, there wasn't one. I look out into the park, checking to ensure its emptiness. "There's no one out here. And I won't look."

"Alright, I suppose I have no choice. If I catch you, I'll kill you." She stated.

"I got it." I said as I turned to face the park, watching intently for activity. I feel a tugging at my left shirt sleeve, and look to find Kyra standing there grinning.

"That was fast." I said.

"And?"

"That's it. You were fast." She looks at me in a way that makes me brace for a hit.

"How would you know? Did you try to look?"

"No! No, no, no I was watching the park, I promise! I don't want to get slapped!" I take a step back. She just giggles at me and goes bouncing off into the park. Having narrowly avoided death (again), I sigh and follow her.

The sun is peaking out the horizon now, and the sky is red with its dying light. The greenery of the grass and trees and the rather attractive girl walking ahead of me completes the image nicely. Something catches her attention, and I heard her gasp in excitement as she went running off behind a tree to her left, squealing with delight. I run after her and round the tree myself and my eyes took in the sight of a few large towels on the ground, some food scattered around, and 4 other girls, 1 with a Blue bracelet, and 3 with Red. Kyra was busy hugging an older woman, the other Blue Kampfer – a tall, simply gorgeous woman in a semi-classy short dress with dark hair and bright eyes – who held her back with a motherly smile upon her face.

"Is that him?" one of the Reds, a charming red-haired girl, asked.

"No, he's just some guy. Of course that's him!" another Red lightly shoved the first playfully. I suddenly found the other Blue woman standing in front of me, her face rather close to mine. I tighten up and take step back.

"Hello, Virgil. My name is Linda. It's so nice to meet you," She says lightly as she smiles that warm smile and holds out her hand, which I delicately shake. "I'm stronger than that, you know."

"I'd hate to harm such a beautiful hand." I responded. She looks over at Kyra, who blushes a bit.

"You spent the whole afternoon with this guy? And you didn't do anything? Bad girl," She looks back at me, pats my hand, and slides away to take a seat on the towel. "Why don't you join us, Virgil? The food is good, and you'll get 5 girls to yourself. Not bad, eh?" She teases. I blush slightly as I walk over and take a seat.

"I hate to ask, but how do you know about me?" I ask Linda.

"Amy, the girl you saw last night, saw you kill that White Kampfer. Just after you left, I found her lying there, and she started moaning about a, 'Mark Virgil Holiday' and how important you were. Kyra goes to the same school, and so recognized the name and offered to find you. I'm Elise, by the way." The third Red Kampfer spoke. The black-haired, dark-eyed girl looked short for an American, though she was just as captivating.

"I see," I glanced over at Kyra, who looked visibly saddened at the mention of her sister. "So, what's the deal? What do you need from me?"

"As you might've guessed, we've stopped fighting each other and have become quite close. However, these White Kampfer which have only recently begun to show up are incredibly strong, and our combined efforts barely put up a fight. Your combat skills are allegedly quite high. We could use your help." Linda said.

"You have my full cooperation. Only one problem." I said. Linda raised an eyebrow at me.

"What's that? You want a reward for helping…?" she winked, a playful smile on her face.

"Eh, no not a reward…" I stammered.

"Oh?"

"No, ma'am. The world of the Kampfers is new to me. To be honest, I don't know how much help I could be to you."

"What do you mean? You killed a White Schwert-type Kampfer on your own using just a knife. You could be of great help to us."

"Schwert-type?" I asked, cocking my head. "That's German for sword type. Are there other types? And are all the names in German?"

"Yes to all. There are 3 types of Kampfer: Schwert, or sword, Gewehr, or rifle/firearm, and Zauber, or magic."

"Aha. Got it. What type are you, Linda?"

"I'm a Zauber-type, as is Kyra here. Elise and Katie are Gewehr-types, Hannah is a Schwert-type." She pointed to each girl as she mentioned them.

"And what am I?"

"You don't know?"

"Nope."

"Well then, let's find out. You seem good with knives; perhaps Hannah can take a few swings at you and see what happens."

"Any pointers?" I asked as I stood up with the second Red Kampfer, Hannah.

"Focus on the fight." Linda winked and indicated an area where Hannah and I could spar. We walked over and stood apart. Hannah's little Asian frame began to glow Red, and when the glow dissipated, her short, black hair was incredibly long, her eyes had changed from brown to gray, and her slender body took on a more athletic build. Something began to form in the air in front of her, and when she reached out to grab it, it turned into a dagger with a brown leather-wrapped handle, a short cross-guard, and a long double-edged blade that smoothly came down to a point. She flicked it at me, holding it forehand.

"You ready?" Her voice had gone from that of a playful student to that of a mature woman. In response, I pulled my knife, held backhand, and took a fighting stance, with the pommel by my face, angled downwards, and my free hand just above my sternum, while my legs bent and my body leaned forward over my right leg.

"Come at me."


	3. Chapter 2

**Ladies and gents, **UNSC Spirit of Fire** here with an update!** _Noble Scotsman_ **and myself are, in fact, working in tandem on this story. Be sure to check out his contributions! Aside from that, enjoy Chapter 2 of Kampfer: The Journey! Favorite and review - it always helps.**

To Kampfer is to Fight

May 9th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

"Come at me." The words left me as she came charging towards me. Her dagger sliced through the air, barely missing me as I evaded. She recovered and charged again, her weapon flashing as it caught the light of the rising moon. I evaded again, but she left an opening. I threw a left hook at her side, which she parried, using it to position herself for another cut. She threw it as I shoved her away, her blade catching on my clothes, but not cutting through. I charged and she threw a thrust at my torso. I parried and ducked, coming from her inside. Driving with my legs, I threw a left uppercut, which she evaded before she charged back, but she was reckless. She aimed a cut at the side of my neck, which I threw off-line and countered with a thrust of the pommel of my knife. I stopped it just before it connected with her central sternum, but she got the point. She fell over and feigned injury.

My peripheral vision spotted red light, and I turned to get a better look. Elise emerged from it; her new form, tall and slender, was holding an MP5K, the muzzle of which was pointed in my direction. She opened fire, the bullets tearing past me as I dove for cover.

_She'll have to reload at some point._ I thought. But the bullets continued to fly.

_Alright, she either has 2 of them and is very good at reloading, or something else is afoot here. Could it be she doesn't even have to reload?_ Suddenly she stopped firing, but I heard her footsteps on the grass.

_Closer, now. Closer…..closer…._I dove out from behind my cover, coming face to face with a stunned girl. I brought my free forearm down on her weapon, sending it flying out of her hands and onto the ground. I threw a right cross at her upper chest, stopping again before impact. She gasped and dropped on the spot, clutching her chest in mock injury. I saw a red light disperse and saw Katie level a Micro-Uzi at me. I could not get to cover in time, so I charged her in an unpredictable zigzag. She began to retreat, but she couldn't move too fast, lest her rounds go wide. I quickly arrived at her position, pushed her weapon aside, and continued past her, stopping just behind her on her 5. She tried to turn and engage as I threw a downward left punch at her kidney. I was faster, and she doubled over and fell to her side, feigning unconsciousness. Suddenly, Linda was standing. She had transformed while I was busy with Katie. Her mouth opened to say something, but something came flying at me.

_Shit._ The thought wasn't fast enough to make me react before a glowing blue ball hit me in the chest and lifted me off the ground. All of my muscles locked out and my body began to shake uncontrollably. I was being shocked. I hit the ground, and control of my body returned to me, though my muscles didn't want to respond. Time slowed to an incredibly lax pace. My chest felt heavy, my arms and legs like massive chunks of lead. I could sense Linda moving towards me, I could feel the vibrations of her voice on my ear drums, despite their ringing. I tried to decipher her words, but I couldn't get a hold of myself.

I suddenly found her over me, holding me in her arms, yelling at me. I stared hazily back at her, fully conscious of what was going on, but unable to express it. The look on her face was one of panic. Another blue ball came rocketing over her head, and she set me down and ran towards the source. I managed to lift my head to look and found all of them battling 2 newcomers, White Kampfers, explosions of blue, red, and orange all around them. I tried to stand, but my legs would not respond. My vision started to blur. I couldn't form coherent thoughts such was the state of panic in my brain as my body overloaded it with signals. I couldn't think properly, couldn't organize myself. I was afraid on a level which I wasn't familiar. This fear wasn't human, it was much more primal. The animal in me was terrified and confused, unable to grasp the situation. I began to lose myself in the noise.

"Why this fear, now in a time of action?" The Moderator's voice rang out in my head. "There is no time for fear."

_No time….for…..fear…yes. No time for fear. I cannot be afraid. I have to fight. I must fight. I. Will. Fight!_ My body felt recharged, as if I had just picked up a health pack in a video game. I rolled and stood before charging towards the fight, electric charges missing me left and right. They arced onto me if they missed close, but I blocked it out. I had no time to waste. I came within striking distance of a White, and threw a thrust with my knife at her sternum. She evaded, but I pursued. She charged another ball of electricity and fired. I evaded and threw a cut at her leg, which connected and cut through, leaving a trail of blood through the air. She screamed, and I drove up with my legs and threw a left hook at her side. My momentum caught up with me, and I began to spin. I looked over my opposite shoulder, my right elbow coming to bear. It slammed into her head and sent her flying. She was incapacitated; the damage dealt would kill her.

I turned to engage the other White, who was taking fire from Katie and Elise, and charged. She saw me just before I was within range and jumped high, clear over me. She landed behind me and sprinted for her dying partner, scooped her up, and charged off in full retreat. There was nothing I could do to them now. Pursuit was impossible.

I turned to check on the others and found Linda kneeling by Kyra, who lied against a tree into which she had been slammed. The others were ensuring that we were in the clear. I ran to Kyra and began to look her over. She was badly cut in many places, and stabbed in a few more. The other White must've been a Schwert-type. Linda was in a state of hysteria. I lightly pushed her away, the tears running down her face as she complied, falling at the feet of Hannah, who kneeled down to hold her.

"No, no, no…" Linda continued to say, desperation in her voice.

"Kyra, can you hear me?" I said calmly. Her eyes dragged towards me, somewhat confused at first, but lighting up in recognition a second later.

"I can't breathe." She said, her words raspy and light. I looked at her chest, where I saw a deep stab wound through her left lung.

"I know. You're gonna be fine." I said calmly.

"You're lying. If I'm going to die, at least be honest about it." She could barely make comprehensible sentences. I knew I had lied about her being ok; there was no way anyone or anything could fix her now.

"Alright. Alright," I said, my voice strained. "You're too badly injured."

"I know. It'll be ok. I get to be with Amy now," She smiled a little. I managed to hold back the tears. "Hey Virginia, hold fast. You still live. Now you can live for me, too. Though I hope someday you'll learn to live your life for you." She became still. I stared into her eyes, beautiful regardless. I reached up and closed them, my hand staying on her face for a second before I stood. I heard Linda start to cry desperately, calling Kyra's name. She turned towards Hannah, pulling her closer, continuing to cry. The others were crying too. Myself included. Kyra was dead.

The girls had transformed back, and they all just sat on the ground. Hannah was using a hand towel and a bowl full of water to tend Linda's wounds. Silence reigned as we tried to take it all in, the occasional sob from Linda being the only exception. I was the only one still standing, leaning against a nearby tree, fearing that if I were to rest, my body would fail to rise again. I looked at the group, not needing to see that they were all severely demoralized. I realized I was still holding my knife, which I quickly put away. I walked over to Elise and stood above her. She looked me, her makeup running from her tears. I extended a hand, which she looked at incredulously. She quickly looked away and began to cry.

"I know. It's ok," I crouched down in front of her and put my hand under her chin, raising her eyes to mine. "We'll pull through, but not if we're sitting. Stand with me," I lightly took her hand and began to rise, and she slowly followed. When she stood, she hugged me and sobbed once before letting go and walking towards Katie to help her stand again. I walked towards Hannah, who had just finished cleaning the last of the cuts on Linda. I crouched down beside Linda, who turned to look at me, inconsolable sadness in her eyes. "Are you ok?" I asked. She tried to say something, but her voice could not form the words and she looked away. I touched her face and slowly brought her gaze back to mine. "Are you ok?" I asked again.

"I'll manage." She squeaked. The tears began to fall from her eyes again.

"We can't fall here. We have to press on. It's what Kyra would have wanted. Stand with me." I lightly take her hand, which she squeezes tightly as she rose with me.

"Thank you." She said, her voice clearing.

"You're strong, Linda. Remember that," I said to her. I could see her recompose herself slightly at my comment. I hugged her lightly. I looked to Hannah, who was teary-eyed as well. I went over and hugged her, feeling her comfort rise inside her as she stood taller. I turned to the rest of group, who all stood and looked at me. "You all should stay at my house tonight. I have room for all of you."

They nodded in response. I walked over to Kyra's body, which lied supine on the ground. I kneeled down to pick her up, but quickly found Linda kneeling on her other side. She looked at me, a need in her eyes. I nodded and backed away. Linda would carry her. When she stood, Kyra's body began to glow a brilliant Blue. It emanated from her body, from her soul, as her body dissolved away into nothingness. Linda dropped her arms and sobbed once. I looked at the others, who nodded to me, and I began to lead the way home.

We walked through the park, the grass crunching lightly under our feet. The moon shined brightly now, illuminating the grounds in a pale light. I glanced over my shoulder at the group, seeing the sadness in their composure, let alone their eyes. Linda looked simply destroyed. I looked ahead again.

_My chest fells front-heavy…_ I thought.

Suddenly, someone chuckled. I looked behind me and found Elise trying to stifle laughter. Everyone looked at her baffled. She continued to shake with her efforts.

"Elise, are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah….I'm fine," she said as she tried to not laugh. "But are you?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"Me? Yeah, physically I'm fine…" The others looked at me now, and their eyes lit up. Honestly concerned, I looked down, and realized I could not see my torso. Something was in the way.

_What the hell?_ I was completely confused.

I reached up to move the object that blocked my view of my body, but quickly realized the object was 2 separate parts, and both were attached to me. Then I realized that I was wearing over-knee socks, and that my crotch could feel the night air, and that whatever was around my legs was way too short for my liking. I reached down to try to pull it down a bit, only to realize that it ended about mid-thigh.

"What the fuck?" I was beyond confused. I had no idea what was going on. The girls started to cackle. Even Linda began to chuckle a bit. I spun around trying to see myself.

"Wow, you're really sexy! I think you might turn some heads with that body!" Katie blurted before she roared with laughter.

_Sexy? Turning heads? What's she talking about?_ I tried again to move the objects on my chest. I failed, but then I took a closer look. _No….no way in hell…._I felt something on my shoulders, something thin. I pulled my shirt off of my shoulder to get a better look, and found a strap.

"Oh my GOD!" I was in full panic mode. The girls fell over in their laughter. I pulled off my shirt and looked down at my chest, encountering a pair of shapely breasts wrapped up in a dark blue bra. "Holy shit!" I began to back up.

_There's no way this is real!_ Suddenly, I tripped and fell, the thing around my legs flying up as I hit the floor. The girls started to reel.

"Damn, you have a good taste in sexy clothing!" Hannah yelped.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I looked at my legs, realizing that I was wearing a skirt. "What is this?!" I pull the skirt up to see what they're laughing about. My jaw dropped at the sight of a pair of black underwear that looked like a standard bikini bottom.

_No FUCKING way!_ I began to pat around. _My junk is gone! I'm a…._ I looked up at the girls, who were shaking from lack of oxygen, crying from their laughter. _I'm…_

"I'm a GIRL!" I screamed into the night.


	4. Chapter 3

**Ladies and gents, **UNSC Spirit of Fire **reporting. Below, I have my third chapter and fourth part to Kampfer: The Journey. Enjoy the show! Favorite and review - helpful as always!**

Evolution

May 10th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

The noon Saturday sun shone overhead, the rays of light coming through the open blinds above my desk. I was lying on my bed, staring aimlessly at the wall across my room. Still in denial, I walked once again to my bathroom and looked in the mirror. A girl with my dark red hair and deep, dark blue eyes was there, though the hair was much longer and the eyes much more feminine. Her athletic build and smooth features gave her a quite attractive body. On the park, she had been wearing what almost seemed to be a girl version of what I had been wearing, with all of the effects. Since my return home, I had changed into something more comfortable.

I remembered overhearing something one of the girls had whispered last night on the walk home after my rude awakening, "She's gotta be at least a 36D! I wish I were that big!" I sigh dejectedly and stumble back into my bed.

_Fuck my life. I've NEVER been this depressed._

I collapsed back onto my bed and tried to hide myself from me under the covers. I looked at the clock, which read 12:45. My door began to creak open, and I quickly hid myself under the blankets.

"Virginia, you awake?" Linda's sweet voice called me. I sat bolt upright in bed, my pride shot full of holes, the expression on my face not hiding it.

"My name ain't Virginia!" I hide again under the covers, embarrassed at the foreign, female voice that came from me. Linda started to laugh.

"Haha! Alright then, VIRGIL, I know you're awake now. Are you alright?"

"I wanna be a guy again…I hate being a chick. How do you girls deal with boobs? They're heavy, they hang out in front of you, drag your weight forward, and get in the way of everything! And the clothes," I shiver at the memory of the skirt and the underwear. "How do you deal with those clothes?!" She began to laugh again as she sat on the bed beside me. I peeked out from under the blankets.

"We find a way," She winked. I hid again, trying to stay reasonably calm and failing. "Hey, you'll be alright."

"How do you know?" I ask, not masking my broken soul too well.

"Because at some point you'll turn back into a guy. But also because, eventually, you'll come to realize that being a girl isn't so bad. Though I have a feeling that'll take time. I've always been a girl, so I wouldn't know anything else, and you've always been a guy. But hey," she yanked the blankets off of me and grabbed my shoulders, restraining my movement. "No matter what happens, I'll be there to help you transition, ok?" She smiled that motherly smile at me. I can't help but reach up and hug her.

"Thanks, Linda." I said, my sanity restored and my pride…mostly…repaired.

"We just have to wait until you turn back into a guy. Then I'll try to teach you to transform at will, ok?"

"How long's the wait?"

"Mine was about 8 days-"

"8 DAYS?! I've gotta go to school! I can't just show up like this!" I cut her off.

"Hey, relax. I'm sure you can call in sick or something. They won't miss you. Someone as studious and dedicated as you probably hasn't missed a day, have you?" Her voice soothed my soul. I nodded no.

_How does she do that?_ I wonder.

She smiled at me. "Then you're fine! Miss a few days. Get used to being a girl. If you turn back earlier, you can either go back to school or spend another day or 2 getting used to it, ok?"

"Sounds good to me," I smiled at her, and she smiled back. "I wouldn't mind having a bunch of girls-" I stop myself, my face going flush at the realization that I may have spelled my certain doom.

"What? What was that?" She teased.

"Don't get any sexy ideas. I want to learn how to change at will, and I'd like you and the others around to help me find my way. Maybe we'll all learn a thing or two." _Saved!_

"So you like the attention, eh?" She smiled and winked at me. "But I have one condition."

"What's that?"

"Out of bed and into the shower you go!" She yelped cheerfully as she yanked me from my bed.

"Wait, what?" I asked incredulously. Before I knew it, I had lost a few of my clothes and was most of the way to the shower. "Hey!" I pushed her away. "I can take my own showers. I'll be out in a minute."

I followed the sound of laughter into the kitchen, where I found all of the girls sitting around the granite island, delightedly eating the food they had procured.

"Glad to see you all found the food. Leave any for me? Or have I been left out in the heat?" They all looked at me and began to giggle. I was slightly confused, but promptly realized that I was wearing black cargo shorts, a gray sleeve-less workout shirt, and a cobalt blue linen shirt over that with the sleeves rolled up, buttons open, the bottom hem reaching low enough to hide the Remington on my hip. _I guess girls usually don't wear this kind of thing._ "Shall I put something else on?" I asked honestly.

"No, you're fine. You're just wearing exactly what we thought you'd wear." Elise said cheerily.

"I see. Well, I thought it looked alright, so I took it." I responded.

"And you look wonderful. Come and eat with us." Linda invited kindly. I walked over to the fridge and opened it. I quickly found Hannah standing beside me, a plate in her hands, with the most complicated-looking sandwich I had ever seen.

"We remembered you." She said matter-of-factly.

"And I thank you for it." I said as I took the plate and followed her to the table. I sit down and begin to devour the sandwich, my hunger ravenous.

"Geez, he reminds me of you once a month, Elise!" Katie said jokingly.

"Hey! I'm not THAT bad!" She blushed slightly in embarrassment. I quickly swallow, the sandwich already half gone.

"You're the type who eats a lot during that time, huh?" I said harassingly. She got up, walked over to me, and slapped the hell out of me. "Hey! Hey, hey, hey! I was kidding!"

"You'd better have been!" She said as she walked back to her chair. "Jerk."

"Seems you eat that way all the time, VIRGINIA." Hannah shot back.

"Hey! I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I'm dyin' over here." I responded before descending upon my sandwich again.

"Hey, you can drive, right?" Katie asked suddenly.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked. I quickly realized why when all of their faces lit up collectively. "Let me finish my food first…" I said dejectedly.

* * *

I soon found myself behind the wheel of my car, driving everyone to a nearby mall.

"Nice ride." Linda teased from the passenger seat.

"I love this car."

"Can we go faster?" Katie's head suddenly appeared next to mine from her position in the back.

"I look nothing like my driver's license picture. If we're caught, we're all so busted it's not even funny." I responded.

"Good point. Sorry."

"What kind of music do you have?" Elise asked.

"Nothing you'd enjoy. Guaranteed." I responded bluntly.

"What do you listen to?"

"Classic/progressive/hard rock and metal, a little classical, and a little old rap. But I have a very narrow window of music I actually enjoy."

"What do you currently have in the radio?" Hannah asked.

"Not sure. I think Alice in Chains."

"You listen to stuff from my high-school days." Linda said, impressed.

_I guess that puts her at around 30._ "AC/DC, Aerosmith, Alice in Chains, The Beatles, Motley Crue, all that good stuff." I said.

"Turn it on. I've never heard anything older than 2000." Katie said cutely.

"Alright." I said. Laughing in my head, I reached over and turned on the radio. No Excuses began playing, the clean guitars creating a soothing tone.

"This isn't so bad." Katie said a minute or so in.

"One sec." I switched the song to Grind. A drastically different song, the distorted guitars played a somewhat creepy and minor-keyed melody. Katie's smile disappeared, and she sank back into her seat, the look on her face a mixture of terror and enjoyment. Her expression was mirrored by the other girls. All except Linda, who was bobbing her head to the rhythm, clearly enjoying herself.

"I'm sorry, that was mean of me," I said over the music. "I'll put on something more pleasing." I switched the song to Rooster. The girls seemed noticeably less oppressed by the more harmonious bass and vocals. Linda smiled.

"How do you know about this song?" She asked.

"My family ate, drank, and breathed this stuff, so when I got good at music, they asked me to learn this one. It quickly became one of my favorites," I responded. "Plus, chicks love it." Linda laughed.

"That we do." She responded. The song ended when I pulled the car into a parking space in front of the mall.

"That was actually really good. Even the heavy one wasn't bad. Just takes some getting used to," Katie said. "But my favorite is the last one you played, Rooster." I laughed.

"I knew it! Girls love that song!" I said as I got out. I looked around the parking lot, realizing that it was relatively empty considering it was Sunday.

The conversation on the way to the door went from music to small talk relatively quickly. I held the door open for the others and quickly followed them inside.

"Hey, guys, where should we take Virginia?" Katie asked.

"I know where!" Elise said excitedly. She quickly grabbed my wrist and began hauling me off into the bowls of the mall.

"Hey, where are we going?" I asked, confused.

"You'll see!" She giggled as she pulled me behind her eagerly. Eventually, we arrived at her destination.

"You've gotta be kidding," I said, horror on my face. "Why, God, why? Why Victoria's Secret?" Whatever pride I had left instantly combusted, leaving nothing but smoke and some ashes. I was defeated.

"I like it! Let's go! I haven't been in forever!" Katie said.

_Someone please kill me._ I thought to myself. _First I'm a girl, then I have to go shopping, and the first place I get to go is Victoria's Secret!_

"Go on, Virginia. This is your first step towards getting used to being a girl." Linda said from behind me before pushing me through the entrance.

_Well, I suppose for now, I am a girl, and this is what girls do. No point in being bashful. May as well make the most of it._ The Moderator's voice came back to me, "Accept this challenge." Accept it I will. After quite some time spent rifling through the various parts of the store, I ended up walking to the register with a few pairs of underwear and bras, a swimsuit, and a vial of perfume.

_This isn't all that bad._ I thought as I reached for my wallet. I didn't have cash on me, so I handed the cashier a debit card. While I was putting it away, something odd caught my eye._ My license picture changed to the girl version of me. If I gave it to an officer, they would accept it as legitimate._ I followed the girls out of the store, deep in thought. _If my picture changed, that means other aspects of reality besides my body could be changed. I wonder what else I could change…_ I looked at my clothes. _Maybe I can change these into whatever I so desire?_ I looked at my surroundings. _Changing clothes here would be ill-advised. I'll show the girls my license later and experiment when I get home._

"Hey, Virginia, let's go!" Elise called. I quickly catch up to them, glancing at Linda as I slow down.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This just reminds me of shopping trips with Kyra." She looked at me and smiled, but her eyes were filled with sadness. I transferred all my bags to one hand and hugged her. She held on for a moment, then let go and looked at me again, the sadness somewhat lifted.

"For what it's worth, enjoy yourself, ok?" I said.

"I will. Thank you," She winked at me before turning to the chattering trio in front of us. "Hey girls, Virginia says she'll treat us to some ice cream."

"Wha…? I never-" I was cut off by the joyful shrieks of the other girls. "Alright, alright, I know a place." I begin to lead them to the ice cream shop. Something surged inside me, enough to make me stop in my tracks and look around. I didn't know what it was, but it was powerful. A tall, pale figure strode past me, and time slowed as he passed. My dark blue eyes met his, a deep crimson, seeming to absorb everything they took in, like his skin and hair absorbed the light. He stared jadedly into my soul, as if searching for something, before his mouth curled into a smirk, time resumed its course, and he was a good distance behind me. I stood for a moment, contemplating what had happened, who I had seen. I quickly turn to stare after him. I realized the girls had passed me and felt them looking at me. I turned to face them, my mouth slightly ajar as the realization set in.

"Virg*****, what is it?" Hannah asked.

"That tall man, with the black hair, he's a Moderator." I said slowly. The girls' eyes widened at what I said.

"How do you know?" Katie asked defiantly.

"Because I have met with a Moderator before," I hold my wrist, upon which sat the Green bracelet. "And I felt that rush then. But that guy is different. I felt the same rush," I said as I glanced over my shoulder. "But it felt almost…darker. More jaded. I don't know why," I turned back to the girls. "But I know for sure that man is a Moderator." Silence reigned.

"What do we do?" Elise quietly asked.

"He acknowledged my presence, and he seems like the kind of man who wouldn't even realize you were there if you weren't worth his time. But he's gone now, and I did promise you ice cream." This lightened the mood significantly, and I took the lead again towards the shop.

"You! Red hair! Green bracelet!" A hostile voice rang out from behind me. I quickly turned to face the source, and saw a girl, slightly shorter than myself, slim in form, with short brown hair lightly framing a desperately angry face.

"Me?" I asked. _Something's not right about her._ I inspected her more closely and detected a white haze of energy around her body, steadily growing brighter. _Shit._

"You! Die!" An Uzi appeared in her hands, and she opened fire without a second thought. I dropped the bags and pushed the girls away from the fight and used the force from the push to accelerate my roll behind a cell phone stand nearby, evading the bullets. People began to scream and run from the fighting.

"God damn." I said quietly as I drew my knife with my right hand. "Here of all places!" I said, annoyance in my voice.

"Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" The voice came from above me. I threw my left hand in her direction, catching her weapon on pure intuition and shoving it away from me before sprinting off in a zigzag pattern. Her rounds flew by me, and I could feel the desperation in each shot fired. "You killed my friend! And now, I'll kill you!"

I took cover behind a stone-walled indoor garden, hearing the rounds impact and shatter the stone. I heard other weapons firing, the distinct clacking of an MP5K and a Micro-Uzi, but they were quickly silenced when the fire coming my way shifted to the girls, suppressing them. A firefight raged on the other side of the wall, the White Kampfer who had engaged us screaming offenses of every kind.

_Fuckin' A, if only I had a gun! Then I could return fire!_ I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I looked at the source, and found it to be the bracelet on my left wrist, glowing a deep, dark Green. A weapon began to form in my hands, a Sig Sauer P220 .45 ACP pistol. The bracelet stopped glowing when the weapon was fully formed. I stared in shock.

I now had a firearm, one I was very familiar and comfortable with. I could contribute to the fight. I quickly sheathed the knife and racked the slide on my weapon, an already chambered round ejecting to my right. I gripped my new gun with both hands in a palm-supported military grip. Time slowed as I popped out of cover, eyes down the sights, and squeezed the trigger.

***pronounced "verge"**


	5. Chapter 4

**Friends, **UNSC Spirit of Fire **here with Chapter 4 of Kampfer: The Journey. If you haven't already, check out **Noble Scotsman**'s newest chapter in his Kampfer story; it's pretty awesome. But, I digress; enjoy the show! Favorite and review!**

Clarification

May 10th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

One. Two.

Two shots. In quick succession; not more than half a second between each shot.

I aimed at her torso, just below her ribs, fired, reset, and fired again, the recoil setting my point of aim higher and into the middle of her ribs. The rounds hit their marks exactly. The girls light framed rocked under the impacts, coming off the ground as her feet went towards the sky and her head went towards the floor. Her weapon left her hand as she dropped, the whole side of her body hitting the floor evenly. Time resumed after she fell, my sights still on her. I lithely hopped the wall and moved to her, eyes down the sights. She wasn't breathing.

"All clear!" I called. I lowered my weapon and moved to check her. I had dropped her left lung with my second shot, and put my first somewhere in her mid-lower torso. The .45 rounds don't move too fast, so they didn't go through, and they generated a large amount of impact force.

"You got her? How?" Elise called.

"With my 45. I'll explain later," I held my pistol in the air for a second before lowering it again. I stood and turned to meet the girls who walked shakily over to me. "She's dead."

"I'd hope so. Those shots were loud." Hannah said.

"45s are good about that." I responded.

"How'd you get that?" Linda asked, curiosity on her face.

"I felt a deep necessity for a gun, and this one appeared in my hands." Linda smiled at me.

"You've taken your first step." She said.

"So I have. But we have bigger problems. We've just had a firefight in a public place. What now?" I asked.

"We leave. This kind of stuff never seems to show up on the news. I'd assume the Moderators have some lackey doing clean-up work-" I cut Hannah off by spinning and dropping to a knee, weapon ready, aiming at a figure who stood in the shadows, watching.

"Identify yourself," I called. The figure scoffed, turned, and walked away. At this moment, I recognized him. I lowered my weapon and stood. "That's the Moderator I saw earlier."

"I wonder what he's doing here." Elise said. At that moment, the White Kampfers body began to glow, and she quickly disappeared into the void. All of the spent shells and damages caused by the fighting started to repair themselves as the pieces on the ground disintegrated and new ones began to grow in their correct places. An entrance to the mall opened, and a woman and her two daughters that had run from the fighting walked back in. Following her was a portion of the small crowd that had also run away.

"Ah, I get it," I said. I decided to put my weapon away, and it dissolved into the air in my hands. The girls looked at me in confusion. "We have a fight, and people react as they normally would and get well clear. When the fighting's done, somehow all the damage is reversed. And judging by the look of the people coming back, they don't remember a thing. They resume what they were doing before the fighting. Life goes on."

"That would explain it." Hannah said.

"It would. Do you guys still want ice cream?" I asked politely. A pause for a few moments. Linda looked at me, worry and wonder mixing in her eyes.

"We may as well. It might help to settle us down. Is the treat still on you, Virg?" Katie asked sweetly.

"I'll hold true to my word." I responded. The girls' faces lit up slightly at this.

* * *

By the time we had loaded everything into the car and gotten underway, the girls were in full chatter mode, talking about this and that and the other thing. I turned the radio on and set it for Track 9, "Heaven Beside You" and tuned out, fading into the music, letting it absorb my mind and take it where it would. I thought about the Kampfer in the mall, what she had said, how desperately angry and terrified she was.

_I killed her friend, huh? I cut the saber girl the first night, but she was most definitely the loner type; an introvert. No partnership or friendship possible, or at least none strong enough to warrant that level of behavior. The second Kampfer I cut had a partner, but she looked different from this one, more than just a change of clothes away. And those two seemed very close; I'd expect that girl to react this way. But that still doesn't explain this most recent event. I've never seen this girl or her partner/friend before. And she's never seen me, as far as I can tell. There'd be no reason to attack me in public like that. So why the hell did she do it?_

My deductive thought processes were shut down by a light tapping on my right shoulder. I looked over and saw Linda with her arm outstretched, worry written across her face.

"Are you ok?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to figure out why that girl would attack me. None of the other Whites seemed to have a connection to her strong enough to create that kind of behavior. Perhaps another White Kampfer has been killed by someone else…" I paused for a moment, my thought beginning to come together. "Now since I've been using a knife and raw skill to fight up till recently, they may suspect me of being a Shwert-type. If this is true, and the assumption that someone else is killing Whites is also true, that would mean that whoever killed that girl's friend also uses a blade of some kind, perhaps even one like mine. Whether or not this is a problem will have to be found out later; for now, we must accept that it is possible we have someone else out there killing White Kampfers. I have a hunch it's the Moderator we met today, but until I find another pointer, I can't say for certain," I glanced over at Linda, who looked somewhat overwhelmed, yet that worry still lurked about in those eyes. "I think the real question is: Are YOU ok, Linda?" I redirected her question. She looked down.

"I'm worried about you, but I'd like to talk about it in private." she responded.

"You won't have to wait long." I pointed down the road to the opening garage door into my house.

"I suppose not." she said quietly. The trio in the back all disembarked, took their bags, and went to the main room to talk and try different combinations of clothing. I took my bags and went straight to my room to find a place for them. Linda followed and watched me quietly as I put my newly bought girl stuff into a space in a drawer I had cleared. I closed it, put the empty bags on my chair to remind myself to handle them later, and looked at Linda.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

"I'm worried about you, Virgil. You've killed three people thus far, and lost a friend as well. But you're quiet, almost like you're not bothered by it. My brother was the same way when he came back from Afghanistan with minor PTSD. I just worry for you. I don't want you to suffer like that." she said, emotion in her words.

I stood silently for a while, taking in what I'd heard and formulating an appropriate response.

"Linda, your worries are in vain," I said softly. "When I killed that saber girl the first night I met a Kampfer, a Moderator came to me afterward and gave me a choice. I could either forget it happened, continue down my current path, and live as normal a life as possible, or I could become a Kampfer and journey down a trail I knew nothing about, to encounter things I otherwise never would have, to venture into the dark and damp of a life I never imagined. And while he didn't say it outright, he did warn me of the consequences of either choice. If I chose to live normally, I would continue with my life as I had originally planned, and perhaps even find a semblance of happiness there, but I would always remember that night and that choice given to me, and forever would the possibilities and imaginings have tortured me; forever would I be tortured by the knowledge that I was missing something, and that I might've found it on the trial I left behind. If I chose to become a Kampfer and fight the Moderators, I would encounter obstacles that would be difficult at best, impossible at worst; he told me I could not be afraid, that I could not hold back, that I must pursue the path with all of my heart," I stopped for a second to catch my breath and gather my thoughts. "I chose to become a Kampfer because I felt that it was mine to do, and that no one else could do it. I believe that something much grander than myself, than anything you or I can imagine, put me here for a reason. And when I was given the chance to become a Kampfer, I knew within myself that I was meant to take that path, that a "normal" life would be nothing but a shadow and a waste. I took this path willingly, despite being afraid of the dark, of the unknown. I took this path, despite knowing that I had seen Death before, and that I would see him again and again, that he would become a regular obstacle of mine. Don't think that I do not feel the Death; I do. But I cannot let it slow me down. I must shed my tears quickly and keep moving, taking with me the memories of the Dead. This I do willingly, for Death is an old friend; I have met him many times in my past: my parents when I was young, my uncle and his lover just 7 years ago, and those more recent. But that is a part of the path, and along with the shouldering of the path, I too must shoulder the Death," I paused as a horizontal Green beam of light passed from my feet to my head, turning me back into a man. "I knew what I was signing up for. And I do not regret it."

Silence reigned for a few moments. Linda sobbed once and began to cry, plopping down on the bed, her face buried in her hands while she wept. I sat by her, an arm around her, and pulled her towards me, trying to comfort her. She clung to me and cried.

"You, too, will find your path, Linda. And when you do, all will be revealed and all will be well." I said calmly. She began to calm down and regain herself.

"How do you know?" She asked through the sobbing. I remembered Kyra asking the same question.

"Because I've been where you are. I've seen that part of life. But I still live, and so I push forward. You, too, will move forward, because you have the strength within you to do so. You just don't know it yet," She looked at my, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "But you will find it. I believe you are strong, Linda. But you must see it in yourself, and in time you will." She dried her tears.

"I will." She said resolutely.

"I know you will." I smile at her.

"You're very impressive, you know that Virgil?"

"As are you, Linda," I grab her shoulder and squeeze it as I say so. "Let's join the others."

"Yes, let's," she said as she stood. "We have work to do, my dear." She said playfully. She winked at me and began to drag me out the door by my wrist.


	6. Chapter 5

UNSC Spirit of Fire **here, with Chapter 5 of Kampfer: The Journey! At this point, **Noble Scotsman **and myself have locked in a final storyline, and will now be releasing chapters in tandem. It's gonna be awesome. Enjoy the show!**

Experimentation

May 10th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

The girls were sprawled across the floor in the living room, they clothes they had bought sprawled with them in various combinations. They all looked at us when we entered, Linda dragging the male version of me behind her.

"What were you two doing?" Hannah asked cutely.

"Nothing of great interest. Listen, we gotta talk. Something's on my mind, and I'd like to have your thoughts." I said. I pulled out my wallet before sitting on the floor with them, being careful to avoid the clothing strewn about. I produced my driver's license and put it on the ground in front of me.

"Your license? What about it?" Elise asked. Confusion was written on all of their faces as they pondered my seemingly random action.

"When I turned into a girl, it wasn't just me that changed. Allow me to explain: In the store today, when I was paying for my girly clothes, I noticed something about the picture on that card. When I transformed into a girl, not only did my clothes change, that picture changed as well." I said.

"To be fair, none of that is supposed to happen. Only our dedicated school uniforms change with us, as far as we know, and our pictures certainly aren't supposed to change." Elise said.

"Interesting. So, we know that when you change, only your physical form changes, with the only exception being your school uniforms. We also know that when I change, my clothes change with me, and in addition, we now know my license changes as well. From this, we can assume that anything I am wearing will transform with me. If that's true, and if we factor in my license picture changing, then I have this question to ask: If my clothes and license picture can change, can other realities be altered as well?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked.

"The change in my clothes yesterday seemed to be a gender mirror-image of what I was wearing before. I want to know if, perhaps, I have a say as to what clothes I change into upon transformation. I have two more things. First, let's say that I can in fact control the clothing aspects of my transformation. Can I also change the physical appearance of the person I change into? Second, let's assume that I can control both clothing and physical appearance. We now factor in my combat abilities. Can I control what firearm I generate?" I asked.

"Basically, you know that your transformation abilities are an enhanced version of ours, and you want to know what you can control." Linda stated.

"In a nutshell, yes." I responded.

"Well, you are the first and only Green Kampfer, and your abilities are a direct gift form a Moderator. It stands to reason that they'd be more impressive. Let's experiment." Hannah said.

"I'd hoped you'd say that. First thing's first: Transformation 101." I said.

"No one can quite explain what they do to change. They can help you figure it out, but otherwise it's on you. Stand up," Linda said. I stood quickly and moved a short distance backwards. "Clear your mind. Focus on the idea of the change-" A horizontal Green surface appeared under my feet and swept upwards, disappearing just above my head. I had assumed my female Kampfer form. "Impressive, Virgil. Very impressive."

"I'm starting to get the hang of this." I said, changing back.

"Fast learners make the job easier," Hannah said as she stood. "Let's try to answer your first question. Try to appear in something formal like…" she quickly pulled out her phone and began rifling through it. "Something like this." She showed me a picture of a rather elegant black formal dress, tight-fitting and long, with thin straps on the model's shoulders. I sighed.

"You couldn't have picked something more casual?" I asked.

"Suck it up." She said.

_Relentless, aren't they? _I thought to myself. I took a deep breath before beginning the transformation. The Green surface appeared beneath me, and worked its way up, but much slower this time. On top was my male form in my relaxed vagrant clothing, but appearing below it was the beginnings of that elegant dress. My face was taught with concentration as I actively attempted to control the change, focusing on every detail in the dress.

"No way," Elise said in shock. "He really IS something else."

The surface continued up my body, now just below my hips. It began to ascend faster as I came to understand what the process for manipulation was.

_So I CAN control clothing. I'll try adding makeup and a hair style…_

Finally, the surface cleared my head and disappeared. I stood there, clad in that elegant dress, with my hair done up in a neat bun on the back of my head, some eye shadow and blush added to complete the formal outfit. I even managed to add lipstick.

"You…you can control both?" Linda stammered out.

"How?" Katie asked.

"It's difficult to explain. It took a second to get the feel for controlling specifics on the clothes, but it was relatively easy to get. Once I figured it out, I thought the same controlling concepts could be applied to physical appearance. And apparently they can." I responded.

"You do learn fast. Shit." Elise said, shaking her head in shock. The surface appeared under my feet again and began to rise. When it disappeared, I was still in my female Kampfer form, however my previous outfit had be reassumed.

"I think I understand how that works," I said. I generated my Sig .45. "Let's answer my last question. Give me a second," I ejected the magazine and looked at the rounds inside. "Standard ball ammo." I said. I replaced the magazine.

"What does that matter?" Linda asked.

"If I'm right, then that'll be important later. One sec." I answered. I looked at the weapon in my hand, and rifled through my memories of the many firearms I'd handled throughout my life. _I'll start simple and replace this pistol with another. Let's try a Glock 20, 40 S&W._ I thought. The pistol began to glow, and its shape began to change. The glow dispersed, and I was holding a pistol made by a different company, in a different caliber. _So I can create weapons radically different from each other._ I ejected the magazine the confirm my thoughts, and found myself looking at the distinctive flattened slugs of the 40 S&W rounds. I replaced the magazine and looked at the girls, who stared in shock, on the verge of slack jawed. "Seems I'm right." I said casually, laughing inside at the ridiculous looks they gave me.

"I have a question for you. Are you restricted to pistols, or can you create other kinds of weapons?" Katie asked. I thought for a moment, reviewing everything that had happened.

"Give me a second," I said. _Let's try a rifle, a semi-auto SCAR-H, my favorite._ The pistol began to glow, and it's shape began to radically change, and it became too heavy to hold with one hand. I quickly grabbed for where the hand guard would be, just in time for the transformation to complete. In my hands I held a SCAR-H, plain and simple. I stared at it in shock. "Holy shit." I said.

"Seems you're not limited to pistols." Hannah said.

"Seems not. Let me try something," I said. I brought up a number of attachment configurations in my mind, deciding on a deployable bipod vertical front grip and a magnified HWS EOTech holographic sight, variable zoom 3x-6x. The weapon glowed in the areas these attachments would be placed, creating exactly what I'd imagined. "It seems I can also change what my gun has attached to it." I grabbed the new grip on my weapon, shouldered it, and looked through the holographic sight, the variable zoom scope switched off to the left side. The crosshairs glowed a soft red, suspended in the air. I pushed the release on the scope and slammed it in front of the sight, where it clicked into place securely. My vision was magnified 3x. I reached for the zoom dial on the back of the scope, twisting the ring around the scope until I hit 6x. Satisfied, I reset the zoom dial and lowered the weapon. I ejected the magazine and looked at the rounds inside. The .308 caliber cartridges, FMJ slugs, stared back at me. I replaced the magazine and looked back at the girls.

"I'm overwhelmed. This is incredible." Linda said. The others nodded in agreement.

"I think that's enough for one day." I said smiling. Katie looked unsettled. "What's up, Katie?"

"Are you sure you're not a Moderator?" Katie asked. This question stopped me as the words reverberated through my head.

_Could she have a point? Am I, in fact, a Moderator?_ I thought. "I…I don't know," I said honestly. "But if I am, then there is a lot I have to learn. We'll just have to see what fate throws at me, I guess."

"Well anyway, that was damned impressive." She responded. I nodded. I decided to put my weapon away, letting it disappear in my hands. I quickly changed back into my male form and looked out the window. The sun was low in the sky. I checked my phone's clock, and it read 17:30.

"Hey, it's getting towards dinner now, and I'm rather hungry. I know a really quiet place on the park on a small hill, if you guys are interested. Real nice view." I offered. Then I realized how stupid that was; Linda may not be interested. The girls talked amongst themselves for a few seconds.

"Sure, we'll go," Linda answered, a smile on her face. I was surprised at her answer. "On one condition."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Let's stop by the spot where we fought out there. Just for a minute."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Absolutely." She responded.

"Alright. Let's pack something simple and go eat."

* * *

18:30 rolled around, and we were walking on the park out to the place where Kyra had died. Linda moved ahead of us, and when we arrived, we just stood there a few minutes. Linda mumbled something before looking at me.

"Let's go eat." She said, looking much more relaxed.

"Alright. Let's go. Follow me." I turned and began the relatively short walk to the hill. We arrived in a few minutes, set everything up, and began to eat. Our conversation went from favorite foods to a full-blown argument about the best malls in town. I joined in once in a while, but mostly I just played the devil's advocate and stabbed holes in arguments on all sides.

It was 18:50, and the sun was still just peeking up over the Arizona horizon. I was enjoying the view when a creeping sensation began to well up inside of me. I felt something coming our way, and it wasn't friendly. I stood and changed into my female form, surveying the area around us. The girls grew quiet.

"What's wrong, Virg?" Elise asked.

"Something's com-" I was cut off by a knife flying straight by my head, cutting my cheek on the way by. I dropped to the floor instantly, seeking any kind of cover. I looked towards the source of the attack and found many more blades coming our way, thrown by the White Kampfer who had killed Kyra. "Get to cover!" I yelled as I quickly came to one knee, creating my weapon as I rose. My SCAR-H appeared in my hands, with all of the previous attachments still there. I quickly shouldered the weapon and began firing in her direction. She began to run away. I stood and ran after her. She jumped high into the air, evading my fire. I jumped after her, matching her height and speed, firing as we descended back to the ground outside the park. At this point, I realized the girls were following, that they had shifted, were firing, and were very angry. The White occasionally turned around to suppress us with a hail of knives, but she would just as quickly turn back around and keep running.

_She's missing on purpose, trying to lead us somewhere._ I thought. "Eyes high! It might be a trap!" I yelled, continuing my pursuit, trying to get a good shot. She jumped to the roof of a building, landing on top of it. I followed.

"We can't do that! We'll follow on the ground!" Katie called.

I kept running, following the White Kampfer. She jumped off of the other side onto another building. I jumped and kept following her, occasionally firing when I could. She ran to the edge of the building and disappeared. _She went down._ I thought. I hit the edge, jumped down to the sidewalk 2 stories below, and looked to my left, where I saw her duck into an alley. I quickly stood and ran for the alley, stopping at the opposite corner, using it for cover.

I popped out, eyes down the sight, but nothing was there. I left my cover and began advancing down the alleyway, sweeping left and right with weapon, clearing the nooks and crannies of the place. Halfway down, I stopped, listening. I heard footsteps, fast pace, coming from around the corner on the other side of the alley. I dropped to a knee and prepared to fire. Someone rounded the corner, quickly followed by another. I instantly recognized the lead man, tall and pale. _The Moderator? What's he doing here?_ I thought.

"Carlisle!" His follower, a rather attractive girl, warned quietly, but he laid a hand on her head reassuringly, making the height difference between them even more obvious.

"She's not a threat," he said calmly, smirking. "Why are you here?"

"I should ask you the same-" a bright orange ball appeared behind them. "Hit the deck!" I yelled. The ball exploded, throwing fire everywhere, engulfing the pair down the alley and sending an intense heat wave at me. "Son of a bitch!" I yelled, closing my eyes against the heat, resisting the backward force that hit me.

It passed quickly, and I quickly opened my eyes and searched for the pair in the smoke of the detonation. I couldn't see a thing, and I began to cough on the dust thrown up by the blast. I raised my rifle, preparing to engage, trying to find any trace of the duo. Suddenly, the wind began to rush through the alley, emanating from where the duo would be, and the smoke suddenly cleared to reveal the Moderator, a long, straight sword gleaming dully in its sheath as smoke wafted off of the cover. With a flick of his wrist, the last of the tendrils dissipated, traces of his blocking the attack. The alleyway was cleared of dust. The girl clutched a very beautifully made rapier, drawn, her eyes hardening at the attempt made on her master's life. The attack parried, the Moderator charged and fired his own ball of dark energy in his free hand, throwing it at the Kampfer down the alley, who stood in shock, diving behind cover just in time. They walked casually to join me in the center of the alley, the Moderator parrying fireballs, hurling his own, and even lobbing the enemy's back at them to keep them pinned…all with his sword still sheathed.

_Damned Moderators…_ I thought

I heard something flying through the air behind me. I jolted out of the way as the knife flew by me, hitting the cinderblock wall in front of me to my left, shattering the wall. I turned as I fell to my side and saw the other White and began firing at her. She dove for cover, dodging my rounds. I quickly stood, weapon covering her position. The Moderator and the girl stood behind me, facing the opposite direction, ready to eliminate the other White.

"I'll draw mine out; her movement will cause the other White to come out. We'll kill them both." I said quickly.

"Fine…" The Moderator said jadedly, seeming to tire of the little I had said to him. My magazine began to glow as I replaced the FMJ rounds with lathe-turned all-brass AP rounds. _I can change ammunition types as well…_ I thought. I aimed at the wall behind which the Kampfer hid and fired 3 shots. She came stumbling out of cover and attempted to suppress me with knives. I quickly acquired her and fired. The round spiraled through the air and impacted her square in the chest. White energy, behaving like blood, flew out of her, disappearing before it hit the ground. She fell and stopped moving.

Behind me, I heard the sound of explosions and felt air whip past me as something moved incredibly quickly away. The explosions stopped, and I spun around. The Moderator stood with the other White impaled on his sword, his feet off the ground. He grabbed the clothes of the Kampfer, ripped his sword from its target with malice in his movements, and threw the body into the wall on his left. The fight was over. He turned back towards me, a bored look in his eyes.

"It's over," he stated, amusement in his tone, as though it had been a quaint encounter between old rivals.

"No shit." I replied in disbelief at this guy's nonchalance.

"Hey," he said, sheathing his sword and glancing at me. "You're heading for _that_ place too…aren't you?"

"How do you mean?" I asked, confused. "If you mean I'm leaving this place to go elsewhere, I cannot leave for 2 weeks. I'm graduating this year, so I'd like to take finals and do that, plus I need to tell my college to give me a year. If you tell me where to go, I can meet you there," I responded. The man frowned at me, disapproval at the idea of finals showing. "Part of being 19, man. Sorry."

"Give her a break, Carlisle." The girl said. Carlisle glanced at the girl, and they exchanged a smirk. Turning away, he waved a hand over his shoulder carelessly, already gone.

"Give her your phone number, Anastasia…" he said, exchanging eye contact with me for a brief second, seeming to smile scathingly through it. "I'll see you again in 2 weeks, _midori_ Kampfer." He turned and began walking down the alley. The girl turned to me, quickly gave her name and number, and ran off after the Moderator.

_Midori…that's Japanese for green, I think. So…he must be headed for Japan. _I thought. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see who it was. The girls stood there, out of breath, staring past me at the pair who were just rounding the corner.

"Was that….the Moderator?" Hannah asked through her breaths.

"Yeah, y'all missed the show. Let's go home. I have something I need to tell you, and a favor to ask." I said. I put my weapon away, changed back into my male form, and began the walk home.


	7. Chapter 6

UNSC Spirit of Fire **here with Chapter 6 of Kampfer: The Journey! I encountered a number of walls writing this one, but I think it worked out OK. Very soon now, my chapters will be written and uploaded in sync with** Noble Scotsman**'s Kampfer story, and it will be awesome. For now, enjoy the show!**

Phase 1: Movement

May 24th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

I stood at the entrance of the airport on the sidewalk clad in long black fatigue- style pants and a dark gray t-shirt cover by my cobalt blue linen shirt, sleeves rolled down. All of my clothes and other items were packed into a large suitcase to my side, built to carry enough scuba diving hardware to fully outfit two people. On my back was a large back pack, with my laptop and its various accessories padded with a change of clothes. Slung across my chest hanging on the opposite side of the suitcase was a Smith & Wesson pistol range bag that was currently serving as my duffel. Linda closed the trunk of the car, she being the only one who had accompanied me. I had said my farewells to the others beforehand.

"You're sure you'll be alright?" Linda asked.

"Honestly, no. But I'll make it. I've spent about 120 hours learning the language plus the hours of flight time ahead and, complicated as it is, I'm good with languages, and will pick the rest up later. I'm a high school grad, I've got a year before college asks if I'm coming back, so I'm good there. Anastasia and Carlisle will meet me in Japan at some point. I've already looked into finding my own digs. I have the money to support myself for a time even after getting my own place, and I don't think charming my way into a job will be too difficult," Linda laughed at me. "I've all my clothes packed, the house will be looked after by you and the girls, and once I'm settled in I'll send for the rest." I said, confidence in my voice.

"You've got it sorted, huh?" She said, smiling.

"Yeah. Except for the fact that I'm going to Japan. Never figured I'd end up living there for a time." I responded.

"You'll visit us once in a while, right?" She asked, sadness on her face.

"If I can. I'm not exactly going there for leisure. I've been tasked with a mission, and leaving with Carlisle is the first of many steps towards its completion. You'll definitely be hearing from me though." I said. She suddenly jumped onto me, arms around me in an intimate hug.

"Just don't die, OK?" She said quietly.

"Death is an old friend, sweetheart. But my time won't come for a while. Of this I am certain," Her hands slid to my shoulders and she leaned away to look into my eyes. "I'll be fine, Linda. You know me. I'll make it work. Hell, I may even thrive there."

"That's what I'm worried about." She responded.

"You sound like we're a married-" I was cut off by her sudden lunge forward as she touched her lips to mine. It seemed like forever, but it only lasted a second or so. She let go and backed away.

"Thank you, Virgil, for everything. And good luck. Should you need anything, the girls and I are always available, day or night." She said, smiling broadly.

"Uh…yeah. Of course. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Hey, remind the girls that they are the city's guardians! Keep the place clean for me!" I quickly reset my brain from its overload and reached for the handle of my suitcase, pulling it into position. Linda laughed as she opened the door of the car.

"I shall! Safe travels! Call us when you land!" She said, still laughing.

"Of course! Thank you, Linda! It's been a hell of a time with you guys! Take care!" I waved to her before turning and dragging my suitcase behind me, the wheels clicking as they crossed the small gaps between the blocks of cement on the sidewalk. I heard the door to my beloved STI close and the engine start. It revved real loud before the first gear engaged and she sped off, her hand waving to me out the window. I waved after her and began to journey through the check-in, where I left my suitcase. I slogged through security, walked to the gate and boarded my flight to L.A. International Airport. I landed some time later and spent my 2 hour layover at my next gate speeding through the Japanese Rosetta Stone programs on my laptop. By 15:00, I was airborne on a path to Japan. Where I would go and what I would find, I didn't know, but I knew a grand adventure was ahead, and as I sank into the comfortable but rather expensive First Class seats, I smiled at the thought of what might be coming my way. I pulled out my laptop and took up my lessons once again.

* * *

A female voice broke out over the speakers, gently urging the weary passengers into an awakened state to inform them of our imminent landing. Her last few sentences contained the most important part. I quickly shut my laptop, crammed it into my bag, jumped up and dashed for the restroom.

_Man, I haven't done that since I left home…_ I thought as I walked back to my seat a while later, relief flooding my system. I sat down and buckled in, following the lady's instructions. We would be landing very soon. When the instructions repeated themselves in Japanese, I listened intently, and found I understood all but one or two words here and there. I smiled, content with my abilities.

Soon enough I was on the ground and exiting the gate into the airport terminal. A short hike past security took me to the baggage area, where I found my obnoxiously large suitcase. A number of people looked at it in horror.

_Can't say I blame them. God knows how much crap I jammed into this thing. Talk about payload._ I laughed quietly and walked out the door onto the street, where I waved down a taxi. The 30 minute or so ride to my hotel passed quickly. I checked in, went to my room, and set down my things.

"Shit, man. Long day," I yawned, suddenly feeling tired. I checked the time. 2:45. "Sleep…time…" I fell back onto the bed, instantly asleep.

* * *

I groggily opened my eyes.

_Dropped like a damn rock._ I thought. I checked the clock by the bed. 15:20, Monday afternoon. I'd slept just over 12 hours, and my stomach loudly reminded me of what I'd missed. _Guess I'd better eat something_.

I took a quick shower and put on a change of clothes, dark green pants, a black t-shirt, and a black linen shirt, sleeves rolled up. I walked to the sidewalk in front of the hotel and recalled the number of places to eat I had researched that were around my hotel when I booked it, and I decided on the ramen shop down the road. I looked around at the new city that was to be my home for a time, observing the people passing by. I sat down in the relatively humble and quiet restaurant, ordered my food, and continued to observe my surroundings. The whole city was pretty quiet, surprisingly. But it was a nice quiet, a soothing quiet. And the food was simply delicious. I finished my meal, enjoying every bite.

_Man, these guys cook some good food._ I thought as I finished the meal. The rather cute waitress took my money and I took my leave. The time was now 16:45, so I decided on to return to my hotel room and contemplated calling home. Then I remembered I was ahead 16 hours, plus a 12 hour flight, so right now in Phoenix it was Sunday 8:00. I decided to call them later.

The walk was short and pleasant, and I quickly arrived in my room. I sat on the bed, reached for my phone, and called the number of the family whose house I had taken the most interest in. They picked up almost immediately and were very pleased to hear from me. We decided I would go to their house on Wednesday at noon for a personal tour.

They were so excited to get rid of the place quickly they gave me a live camera-based tour of their house when I contacted them earlier that week. The large, capacious, two-story abode was selling for about $100,000 USD; a steal. It was built within the last 10 years, so it was very modern and had everything I needed, and they had just overhauled it. In addition, it was located near a number of places who were hiring at this time who might take a high school grad.

Despite my excitement at having my own home soon, I lied back down and closed my eyes.

* * *

I awakened suddenly, gasping. _I sense something. I'm not sure what it is, but it's close._ I stood and stretched quickly, working out the kinks in my body. _It's very close._ I moved quickly to my suitcase and opened it, reaching for the exact place I had hidden my Remington. It was still there; I had hid it well enough to disguise its presence. I smiled and quickly attached it to my hip, hiding it under my linen shirt. To avoid drawing attention to myself, I walked out to the street. I went the direction I felt called to by that feeling in my gut, and walked for a time. A short distance later, I began to jog, evading the people and speeding across intersections. The feeling grew stronger, and I was more able to track it, following it until I found myself in a part of the city with tall buildings all around. I stopped, searching for something, though I couldn't tell what.

The night quiet was suddenly broken by a loud clang, as if someone had been violently thrown into something metallic. I ran to the alley from which the noise came from, noticing on the way that the area was completely devoid of life. I rounded the corner and found myself staring at a girl wielding a gilded saber, pointing it menacingly at another person, a tall-looking girl with long black hair and dark purple eyes, who was slumped against a wall underneath the circuit breaker control box she had hit. She looked badly beaten, with tears in her clothing, cuts in her skin, and a bad bruise on her thigh. I noticed quickly that she was wearing a Red bracelet. The other girl raised her weapon over her head for a killing stroke. Her White bracelet glinted in the soft artificial light in the alley.

Before I knew it, I had changed and found myself taking my forward-aggressive shooting stance, my Sig aimed square at the torso of the White Kampfer. She saw me just before I fired, and evaded the round. She began to run down the alley, but she stumbled. I fired again and glanced her shoulder, a very thin trail of white energy in the air. Before I could reacquire her, she jumped straight up and out of sight. I could not pursue. I swept the alley with my weapon, ensuring it was clear, before I ran to the injured Red Kampfer and took a knee in front of her, my pistol on the ground next to me. At a glance she looked to be OK. Then I saw an steadily expanding splotch of blood emanating from her mid-torso. I touched her hand, and she tensed up.

"It's ok. I'm here to help. Let me see," I said in English. _Shit. Not America._ I quickly repeated myself in Japanese. While it wasn't perfect, she seemed to understand. I carefully peeled her hand away, exposing a very deep stab wound. _This is bad. Even if I move her now, there's still little chance of her getting to a hospital alive._ I generated a thick flannel scarf around my shoulders, pulled my knife and cut a strip from it, and pressed it into her wound. She gasped in pain, lurched forward, and tried to push me away. I grabbed her shoulder and carefully pushed her against the wall, keeping pressure on the wound. "I know it hurts. You'll be alright," I said calmly, remembering to speak the correct language. Her eyes began to glaze. "Hey, what's your name?" I asked. _I have to keep her awake._

"S… Shi…zu…ku…San…go." She spoke slowly, pain in her voice.

"Shizuku? Pretty name. Where are you from?" I asked, cutting the scarf into pieces. She moaned and her head began to fall back. "Hey, stay with me-"

"Get away from her, you cock-suck!" A voice yelled from the alley entrance. I looked over and saw a girl of average height with short red hair. Her arm was outstretched, and in her hand was a modern 1911 pistol.

"I'm not your enemy," I responded. "She's badly injured and needs medical attention. Where is the nearest hospital?" I saw her finger tighten around the trigger, her weapon went off, and a round flew between my head and Shizuku's. I responded by covering her with my body. "If you plan to shoot someone, avoid the wounded."

"Fuck. You!" She yelled aggressively.

"I'm trying to help her, you dumb ass! A White Kampfer has dealt her heavy damage. She needs IMMEDIATE medical attention! Where the fuck is the nearest hospital?!" I yelled back.

"She doesn't need a hospital, retard! She needs her Messenger!" The girl lowered her weapon, motioning aggressively with her free hand. I was beyond confused.

"Messenger?" I asked, confused.

"Ugh. How fuckin' stupid are you?! Follow me!" She said angrily. She turned quickly and began to jog away.

"Hold on!" I yelled. I changed back into my male form and gave her the remaining pieces of the scarf. "Keep the pressure on." I picked Shizuku up, placing one arm under her legs and the other behind her back, lifting her up and hugging her to my chest while she pressed scarf into her wound.

"Are you comin'?" The other girl asked, staring around the corner aggressively. I responded by jogging to her, quickly arriving at her position. She led the way through a number of back roads to a relatively charming neighborhood.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my breathing heavy.

"Shut up and keep running!" She yelled back.

"Fuckin' A," I mumbled. Shizuku moaned. "Stay with me. You're gonna be fine." _Assuming we get to this Messenger in time..._

The girl turned up the walkway to a large house and ran to the door. She tried it, rattling the handle and slamming herself against the entrance.

"God DAMN it! Open the fucking door, you little ass!" She yelled at the door, continuing to slam herself against it.

"What's the password?" A cocky voice came from the other side.

"Oh, I don't know. Is it: Shizuku is gonna fucking DIE unless you open the damn door?!" She yelled angrily. I stood a short distance behind her.

"Nope…" The voice said.

"I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll shoot my way in!" She called. She stepped back and leveled her pistol at the door handle.

"You wouldn't do tha-" The voice was cut off by a number of bullets smashing through the door. "Holy shit! Alright, fine! I'll open up." The door swung open. I looked around for the person, but I didn't see anything.

"You little motherfucker!" She spoke caustically. She threw a powerful kick at something on the floor. I looked down just in time to see a white thing that looked like a stuffed animal go flying back into a wall a good ways away from the door.

"Ow! My guts!" it yelped in pain.

"That's a Messenger?" I asked, the bafflement evident in my voice.

"What are you, retarded? That's her Entrails Animal, Electrocuted Wildcat, her Messenger." She responded.

"That's her what now?" I asked, completed lost.

"God dammit! Get in there!" She gestured with her pistol.

"Whoa. You weren't kidding about Shizuku." The stuffed animal said, waddling up to me. I took a good look at it, and my eyes took in a stuffed animal with its fur sticking out in all different directions, its eyes burned out, and its guts hanging out. I shivered.

_Fuckin' creepy, man._ I thought. "She's taken a beating and needs help. Can you fix her?" I asked, trying to hide my confusion.

"Sure! Take her up to her room! I'll fix her right up!" It said cheerily.

"You'd better, ya little dick bag." The red haired girl pointed her weapon at him. The animal looked visibly alarmed.

"I'm goin'! Damn! Follow me." It walked to the stairs nearby, and attempted to climb them. Its attempts were pitiful.

"We need to hurry." I said. I lifted the animal off of the ground with my foot and carefully tossed it up to the top of the stairs, where it landed softly.

"I like him more. He isn't as mean-" The girl fired her weapon at the animal, narrowly missing. "AH! I'm going!" I quickly ascended the stairs, followed the creature to what must have been Shizuku's room, and set her carefully on the bed. A pained noise escaped her.

"You'll need to leave for now. I'll handle the rest." The creature said, climbing onto the bed.

"Alright. Then you need to answer me a few questions." I responded, walking out the door.

"Can do!" I closed the door, walked back down the stairs, turned on a light and found a seat on a couch in what seemed like a living room, where I pondered the situation and waited anxiously for the word on Shizuku.


	8. Chapter 7

UNSC Spirit of Fire **here with an update for Kampfer: The Journey! I hit a bit of a wall with this one; couldn't quite decide how I wanted Virgil's thoughts to be conveyed to the other characters. The next chapter will be quite a challenge indeed. But for now, enjoy! Favorite and review, it always helps! **

Phase 2: Establishment

May 26th, 2014

Tokyo, Japan

I had been waiting for a little while now. I wondered quietly what could be going on in that room. I reached for my phone to check the time: 23:53. _Hey, Linda and those guys should be awake at this point._ I called her number, the line connected, and I waited.

"Hey it's Linda. Sorry I missed your call. Leave me a message and I'll call you back soon. Thank you." Her voicemail recording played through, and I thought of a quick way to explain my situation. The beep sounded.

"Hey Linda it's Virgil. I have a lot to say and not enough time to say it, so hear me out. The flight was good, the hotel is nice, the food is awesome, and I am proficient enough in the language to get around. Here's the deal. I've already made contact with the local Kampfers. I found and stopped a White from killing a Red, named Shizuku, who had been badly injured. Long story short, the White got away, a Blue found us, I stabilized Shizuku and carried her, following the Blue to Shizuku's house, where I have learned of the existence of things called Messengers. I have a lot of questions, but I feel I will have the answers soon," I heard a door upstairs open and two voices conversing. "Anyhow, I'm alive, I'm well, and I'm getting oriented. Say hi to everyone for me. Take care." I hang up, the message only lasting some 40 seconds.

"So she'll be alright?" I heard a sweet, quiet voice say from the stairs.

_Was someone else here with us?_ I thought.

"Yes, of course! She'll more than likely be awake in a short time." The voice of the stuffed animal reached my ears. I shuddered.

_Creepy-ass doll…_ I thought. I stood and turned to face them. The animal had not changed, but the person she was talking to I had never seen before. She was of relatively average height, maybe a little shorter, couldn't have been more than 18 or 19 years old, had short brown hair, large green eyes, and an attractive look. The yellow headband and glasses gave her some charm, and her seemingly nervous demeanor put her into the "cute" category in my mind.

"How is she?" I asked. The new girl looked at me in nervous surprise.

"She'll be fine, damn! Why doesn't anyone trust me?" The animal asked.

"Hey relax I trust you. I suppose I have to trust you, since I've never seen anything like you before." I responded.

"You've…never seen a Messenger before?" The girl asked nervously.

"I don't even know what a Messenger is. By the way, I don't believe I introduced myself. My name is Mark Virgil Holiday, but I go by Virgil." I said politely. The girl looked at me confused.

"Mark…Vir…gil…Holi..day," The animal sounded out my name carefully. "A very American name. I am Shizuku's Messenger, Electrocuted Lynx. This rather adorable and somewhat awkward girl here is Mishima Akane." They sat down on the couches opposite me and I retook my seat.

"Have you been here the whole time?" I asked the new girl. At this question, she blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

"No. I mean, yes I have!" She said, quickly looking at me before turning away again. "My Kampfer form looks and behaves differently from me, but we are the same person." She spoke quietly, as if she were a child who had been caught doing something bad.

"Kampfers can do that? Behave differently from their normal forms?" I asked, intrigued and confused.

"That they can. Also, their looks can be similar to or drastically different from that of their normal forms." Lynx said.

"Interesting. I knew they could look different, but I didn't know their behavior could change," I responded. "All of the Kampfers I know, including myself, don't change in terms of behavior."

"It's more rare and when it does happen it's usually minimal. Mishima is the only one I know of whose personality changes radically." Said Lynx.

"Ok, that makes sense," I said. The girl continued to blush. "But I'm still confused on one part."

"What's that?" Lynx asked.

"What are Messengers?" I asked. The animal looked at Mishima.

"He's very direct, isn't he?" Lynx asked. Mishima nodded. Lynx turned back to me. "Messengers are created and sent by the Moderators. Those who are in possession of said Messengers become Kampfers. We mainly help those who become Kampfers transition into their new role and teach them how to be Kampfers. Other duties include moral support, the occasional helpful piece of information, and sometimes healing, but the last minimal and only happens when Kampfers cannot recover on their own."

"I get it." I said.

"But…you said you'd never seen a Messenger before?" Mishima said, starting to ease up a little.

"That is correct, yes." I responded.

"But you're a Kampfer. That doesn't make any sense." She said, confused.

"I suppose I'm a bit different, then." I said, smiling. She smiled nervously back.

"She does bring up an interesting point. If you are a Kampfer, then you should have a Messenger. At the same time, I've never once heard of or seen a Green Kampfer before." Lynx said.

"I've never once had a Messenger that I know of. I guess I'm weird in more ways than one." I responded.

"Hmmm..." The Lynx leaned in, seeming to study me. "There is certainly something different about you. But that can wait for now," The animal stood on the couch and bowed to me. "Thank you for helping Shizuku. The Whites have been getting stronger and more daring lately, and keeping up with them is becoming difficult." Lynx sat back down again.

"No need to thank me. I'm glad I could be of use to you," I said, smiling. "If you don't mind my asking, how many Red and Blue Kampfers are there total?"

"Um," Mishima said, looking much less nervous. "There are 4 of us. Shizuku and Mikoto are Red, and me and Natsuru are-" She stopped suddenly, and a look of dread came over her face. "Oh no! I forgot! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She hurriedly stood up and began patting herself down for something.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned at the sudden change of behavior.

"I forgot to call them! I'm such an idiot!"

"Call who?" I asked.

"I didn't call them! They'll be so mad!" She started to panic. I stood, thinking of a way to calm her down.

"It's alright, Mishima. Call them tomorrow. I'm fine." I heard a quiet, calming voice from behind me on the stairs. I turned to face the newcomer, and found Shizuku walking down the stairs to join us, clad in black pants and a purple collared shirt. She had changed out of her torn and bloodied clothing.

"Shizuku! You're up!" Lynx said excitedly. She smiled quietly as she entered the room. "Are you feeling OK?"

"Yes, I'm alright." She responded.

"I'm glad to see you're on your feet, ma'am." I said, extending my hand. She took it firmly and shook it.

"I don't believe we're acquainted." She said kindly.

"My name is Mark Virgil Holiday, go by Virgil. I'm a newcomer to Japan." I responded.

"You were the one who carried me here, weren't you? I'd like to thank you for that." She said as she sat down.

"No need, ma'am. Just trying to help." I said, retaking my seat as well. She smiled.

"You may call me Shizuku, Virgil." She said, smiling before turning to Mishima.

"Thank you, Mishima, for worrying so. Call the others tomorrow. They'll understand." Mishima nodded, greatly comforted, before sitting down.

"Alright, I'll do that." Mishima said.

"I should probably get going. I've imposed long enough." I stood to take my leave.

"You're welcome to stay the night if you'd like," Shizuku said. "It's the least I can do. You as well, Mishima." Mishima smiled and nodded yes.

"My parents won't miss me," She said. "I'll need to borrow pajamas though."

"That's fine I have a pair that'll fit you," Shizuku said before turning to me. "What about you, Virgil?"

"I'm not sure where I'd stay. Besides, your parents might-" She cut me off.

"My parents are currently away. I have the house to myself to do with as I please, and I'm inviting you to stay here for the night." She said somewhat assertively. The look she gave me was difficult to read, however it gave me the feeling that I wasn't going to win this.

_Girls are amazingly good at getting whatever the hell they want at the drop of a hat. _"Alright, I suppose I could stay. The hotel's not far, but it's late, and I honestly don't know where I am. I'll head back tomorrow. Thank you, Shizuku." I said, accepting my defeat with a smile. She smiled. Mishima yawned, then quickly blushed. Shizuku laughed softly.

"Come with me, Mishima. I'll get you a change of clothes." She said. The girls walked up the stairs.

"I'm beat as well. Later, Virgil!" Lynx said before beginning the arduous climb up the stairs.

"Good night, guys." I said. I leaned back on the couch, enjoying the silence. A door upstairs closed, and a few minutes later, a soft padding came from the stairs. I looked over my shoulder and saw Shizuku walking towards me.

"Would you like something to drink?" She asked politely.

"I don't want to impose." I responded. She smiled.

"I'm going to make some tea, and I won't be able to drink it all on my own." She said. I laughed quietly.

"Alright, I'll join you." I stood and followed her to the kitchen nearby. She gestured to the table and went to get what she needed. I took a seat at the table.

"What kind of tea would you like?" She asked.

"Whatever you were planning to make is fine. I don't drink a lot of tea, so I'm not familiar with the different kinds." She smiled and turned to begin. A few minutes later, she appeared at the table with 2 tea cups. She took hers and began to drink. I politely followed her lead.

"Your bracelet is Green." She stated. I paused for a second before setting the cup down on the table.

"It certainly is. As far as I know, I am the world's first and only Green Kampfer." I responded. She cocked her head at me, her emotions hidden behind poker face eyes, but I felt as if I were being analyzed in great detail.

"I've never heard of Green Kampfers before, and I'm not new to the Kampfer world," She continued to stare at me. I brought the cup to my lips to drink from it again. "I assume you're a Gewher-type Kampfer." I set the cup on the table and leaned back in my chair.

_She remembers more than she lets on. _"I am. What are you? I didn't see any weapons in the alley that looked like yours." I said, looking back at her.

"Shwert. That White Kampfer disarmed me and I…could not recover my weapons in time." At this, something about her eyes changed. It was extremely subtle, so subtle it was as if only a handful of the particles in her eyes had changed, but a slight shadow crept over her eyes: a shadow of depression.

_She seems too good to just lose her weapon in a fight. She's lying, but it's to cover something. If she wanted her lie to be noticed, she would have drawn more attention to it. Or perhaps it would be just noticeable enough for her intended target to see it...damn she's sharp._ "Well, in any case, you're alive." I said smiling, taking up my tea again. _Perhaps I should quietly acknowledge this one…_

"If it weren't for you, I fear I would be dead." She smiled. But the shadow remained, ever so slight, invisible to those who didn't know how to see it.

"I'm sure you would've figured something out. You don't strike me as the helpless or stupid kind." I said.

"Thank you for helping me." She said.

"Of course." I responded, smiling.

"Why did you help me?" She asked bluntly. I paused, considering my answer.

"I saw a White Kampfer preparing to kill you, and so I interfered. It's that simple." I stated.

She reclined in her chair a bit. "So you too are fighting the White Kampfers and their Moderator puppeteers."

"My aim is to destroy the System and the Moderator's credibility and to free the Kampfers from the Moderator's twisted ways."

"May I ask why you are doing this?" She asked. I considered my options and decided to confide in Shizuku.

_What've I got to lose? Nothing. But I stand to gain a friend, and I need a few of those. _"The night before I became a Kampfer, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and witnessed a battle between 2 Kampfers, a Blue Gewher and a White Schwert. I saw the Blue die, and when the White tried to pursue me, I killed her by myself." Hey eyebrows shifted upward the tiniest bit. "I took on and won against a White Kampfer as a normal human, armed only with a combat knife. Directly after the fight, I was approached by a Moderator who does not believe in their ways. Because he cannot interfere directly, he gave me a choice to live normally and forget the incident or fight against the Moderators as a Green Kampfer in his stead. The rest is history." I stared into her eyes, and she stared into mine, both of us probing the other. After a few moments, she smirked.

"You willingly became a Kampfer." She said.

"I did. Stupid choice, huh?" I said playfully.

"Interesting to be sure. Very interesting," She looked at me for a few moments more. "You're very open about this."

"I've got nothing to hide. And while we may not know each other, we are allies in our cause." I said coolly. She smiled and her eyes moved to the clock on the wall.

"It's getting late. We should get some rest. I'll show you to the spare bedroom and bring you some clothes." She said.

"Sounds good." I said. I quickly finished the little tea I had left and followed her upstairs to an empty bedroom. I waited a moment until she returned with something for me to wear. I set them on the bed.

"Good night Virgil." Her voice was smooth.

"Good night," I said. The door began to close. "Hey, Shizuku?" She peeked back through the door. "You wanted me to stay so you could talk to me, not to repay some kind of debt. Am I correct?"

She smiled for a moment. "I wonder…"

Then she closed the door.


	9. Chapter 8

UNSC Spirit of Fire** here with a new chapter! Apologies for the delay; been keeping myself busy. Anyhow, enjoy the show!**

Phase 3: Cartography

May 27th, 2014

Tokyo, Japan

The desert sun beat down upon my back as I lied prone on the scorching ground, a .300 Winchester Magnum Sniper Rifle pressed into my shoulder, supported by a bipod on the far end of the hand guard. My right finger was on the trigger and my left hand was under the stock, holding it securely into my body. My breathing was deep, slow, and mechanically even, the result of years of practice. My eyes were open, though my right was the only one active, gazing through the long range optic at my target – an 8x10 inch tall plate of ballistic steel leaning against a rock just shy of a mile away directly west of me.

"You're zeroed at exactly one mile. No elevation adjustment necessary." A male voice came from my left. My spotter, his eyes glued to his instruments.

"Copy. Adjustment for wind?" I responded.

"No wind. Fire when ready."

"Copy." My breathing shifted the crosshairs up and to the right on my inhale, back down and to the left on my exhale in a smooth, small, practiced ellipse. I breathed in, the crosshairs moved up. I breathed out, and my crosshairs settled on my target. The last of the air in me left, and for a split second, the crosshair was perfectly stable. I was on target. I fired. The dust around the muzzle on the ground shook and flew up from the concussive blast of the round exiting the barrel. My eye, still gazing through the optic, saw the rock behind the target explode, sending rocks and dust in all directions.

"Haha! Hell yeah! Great shot kid! Direct hit! I taught you well, eh?" The voice was simply brimming with excitement.

"Yeah you did! That's not an easy shot!" I turned to look at my spotter and found myself looking at Julie, my mother, who stared into the distance. She was crying. Confused, I followed her gaze and saw what looked like fire where the target should have been. I looked through the scope and saw an Apache attack helicopter wrecked into the ground, burning. Suddenly, the crying stopped. I turned my head to look at her, but she wasn't there. I looked around, but I couldn't find her. I was completely alone. As I stood up to begin searching for her, I heard something crash very loudly on the other side of the hill. I ran to investigate and found a car, badly smashed. Recognizing it as my mother's, I ran to it, sprinting on a highway in Phoenix, towards the wreck. All around me were paramedics, policemen, firefighters. They did not stop me as I continued to run to the car. I stopped a short distance from the door. There was no point in going further; the blood on the windows and the hole in the windshield told me exactly what had happened. I turned to walk away, strangely unfazed by what I'd seen. I bumped into someone, a tall man. "Excuse me." I said. He turned aggressively to look at me. His eyes burned with a deep hatred. Before I could react, he produced a rapier and threw a strike at me.

* * *

I gasped as I awoke suddenly. Lying on my back, I looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings of the bedroom, recognizing it as Shizuku's guest bedroom. I relaxed my body, exasperated. _A dream. A very fucked up dream. _ A light tapping came from the door. I turned to look and saw it begin to open. Shizuku stepped through.

"I'm glad to see you're awake. I was beginning to worry." She said smoothly.

"Oh? Why's that?" I asked, still lying down.

"It's 10:30." She said.

"It's 10:30?" I said, sitting up. _Jesus Christ that's early…_

"It is," She said smiling, watching me stretch my shoulders from the doorway. "I can show you where the shower is, if you'd like."

"I would like that, thank you." I said, standing up and picking up my clothes from the chair across the room. She smiled and led me to the bathroom down the hall. I was impressed with how large a space it was. Some 15 minutes later, I exited the bathroom, refreshed and clothed.

"So, where is this new boy? I want to see him!" An unknown female voice came from downstairs.

"He'll be down soon, Mikoto." I instantly recognized Shizuku's voice.

I walked to my room, quickly made the bed, and set the clothes I'd slept in neatly on top of it before walking quickly to the stairs.

"What's he like?" A male voice asked.

_A guy? Not surprising, I suppose. She is attractive._ I thought.

"Well, he's…there he is." She said, pointing to me as I entered the living room.

"Good morning," I said politely. I was stopped by an aggressive advance from a short, pale-skinned girl, who instantly appeared in front of me, staring intensely at me, eyes locked onto mine. Her body, clad in a tank top and shorts leaned sharply forward, forcing me to take a small step back. A short silence reigned, the tension palpable as the others watched the girl, and the girl watched me. _Man this one's intense._ I smiled, stood upright, bowed slightly and extended my hand toward her. "My name's Virgil, and as Shizuku may have already said, I'm new here. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss…?" The girl smiled brightly, took my hand and crushed it in her own, shaking excitedly.

"Mikoto Kondou! It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Virgil!" The girl spoke flawless English. I would have been more impressed if I wasn't worried about my broken tarsals. She let go, still smiling broadly as I recovered from her vice-like grip. The others looked confused, staring at Mikoto.

"Mikoto, I didn't think you spoke English." The male, a blue-haired boy wearing a t-shirt and pants, said from the couch.

"Of course I speak English! I travel all the time!" The girl said, rushing back to her place on the couch. "You're pretty stupid, Natsuru."

"Hey! Why am I stupid?" Natsuru said, a look of offense on his face.

"With all of the places I've been, and all the awesome stuff I've done, you thought I couldn't speak English." She gave him a sad puppy face. Natsuru was speechless, his face breaking out into a nervous smile.

"You're quite fluent, ma'am. It's impressive." I said in English to Mikoto. She beamed her smile back at me.

"I've spent some time in America," She said. "And what's with the formal 'ma'am' crap? Call me Mikoto."

"I shall." I smiled and walked to a spot on the couch indicated by Shizuku. She had saved me a seat.

"Seems I'm the only one who hasn't introduced myself. I'm Natsuru Seno. Pleasure to meet you, Vir…gil." He stood and stretched his hand out to me, which I shook with my un-damaged hand.

"Nice to meet you as well, Natsuru." I responded, taking my seat.

"Speaking of being fluent, you're quite good at Japanese too, Virgil." Mikoto said.

"It's certainly a complicated language. I'm glad I'm not butchering it too bad." I said.

"Well, you do butcher it a bit…" She trailed off.

"Hey I'm new. Cut me some slack." I smiled at her.

"Now that we're all here, we should go somewhere." Shizuku said.

"What are some good places to hang out?" I agreed.

"We could go to the movies?" Mishima suggested.

"He could see the city a bit if we did that." Mikoto said.

"I'm down. Might as well get to know my new home." I said.

"Shizuku said something about that. When are you moving? Where will you go?" Natsuru asked.

"I'd like to know as well." Shizuku said.

"Hopefully, I'll be moving soon. There's a house I've got my heart somewhat set on. Regardless, my stuff is gonna start showing up in the next few days here, but I think I'll have a place by then." I said.

"Why move here, of all places?" Shizuku asked.

_Freakin' A she's tricky._ I thought. "Perhaps we should save that conversation for another ti-"

"No, please, tell us." Shizuku cut me off, staring directly into my eyes.

_Dammit, how do girls make that it-will-happen stare?! _"Eh….alright…." I was about to begin when Natsuru began glowing a bright Blue. The glow dispersed, and I was looking at a girl, about the same height as the male Natsuru, slim, rather attractive.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" She yelled, indignation on her face.

"What the-" I was cut off by the Green surface involuntarily appearing underneath my feet and quickly sweeping upwards. I had changed into my Kampfer form. "Why did we change?" I asked, looking at Natsuru, who stared at me with a look that combined horror and confusion. I then quickly looked around. Everyone had changed except Shizuku. _Bullshit. Wait…the inside of her hair changes, but not much else. She doesn't stick out like the rest of us. Interesting._ Shock overtook my mind. "Seriously, what's going on?" I directed my question at Shizuku.

"The presence of new Kampfers always triggers the change. After a while you get used to the other presences, and when that happens you can suppress it, but the appearance of a new Kampfer guarantees the change." She responded calmly.

"Hells bells." I said to myself in English.

"Boy, you don't know much, do you, GREENhorn?" Mishima laughed.

"You're a…male…Kampfer?" Natsuru stuttered. I looked at her again, realizing that just seconds ago she was a he.

"What the hell?!" We both yelled. I slumped back onto the couch in disbelief. Natsuru swayed a little.

"I thought I was the only one. Shit." I said, trying to maintain control of myself. Natsuru doubled over, slamming full out onto the floor, mumbling, a look of shock and desperation on her face.

"You alright?" I stumbled over to her, leaning an ear closer to make out the words.

"Hey dumbass what the hell's the matter with you?" Mishima asked, dragging her violently from the floor by her collar. Natsuru continued to mumble. "Look if you don't speak up, I'm gonna slap you into consciousness." She threatened.

"Mishima, it's alright. Natsuru, what are you saying?" I said, standing. The others also stood. Natsuru's eyes began to water as she turned her head to look at me. "Come on, dude, start talking."

"You're hotter than me!" Natsuru whined, bursting into tears. Mishima followed through with her threat and cracked her across the face before dropping her back to the floor. Natsuru hit the ground and twitched a few times.

"Fuckin' hell man I thought something was seriously wrong with you…" Mishima trailed off as she looked in my direction. I suddenly felt a very sharp pain on my cheek and found myself on the floor facing the other direction, my head reeling. I felt something metallic touch the back of my head. "Sorry man. It's hard enough holding on to Natsuru as it is. Say your prayers, pretty woman; you're gonna need 'em!"

"Hold on a sec! First, I'm a guy and I consider myself straight and second, shooting me is going to make a hell of a mess." My brain scrambled for a relatively peaceful way out of my predicament.

"First, you're competition, so fuck you. Second, not my house, not my problem." She said.

"I'm sure Shizuku would disagree. Besides, you may actually want to keep me around." I said, a plan popping into my head.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"If what the Lynx said is true, you'll need every Kampfer you can get. Also, I think you'll find Natsuru to be straight as well. I'm not your competition, and I don't want to be." I said. Mishima became silent as she thought about this. She removed the muzzle of her weapon from my head.

"Alright, smartass. You're off the hook this time. But I'll be watching you," She said. I stood up and turned to look at her. She sat down, huffed, and looked away. "Tricky bastard."

_That train went way off the rails._ I thought as I retook my seat.

"Now you have quite a few more questions to answer, Virgil." Shizuku said coolly from her seat next to mine.

_Oh really?! No shit, Sherlock!_ "Yeah I figured that," I said politely. Natsuru was still on the floor twitching. "Shouldn't we help her?" I said.

"No, that bitch is fine. Start talkin'," Mishima stated irritably. "And make it quick. I really wanna see that new romance movie that just came out." Her cheeks reddened somewhat at the thought of her and Natsuru watching a romance film together.

"Alright, I'll do what I can. I'd best start from the beginning then," I collected my thoughts and evened my breathing. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time in a park by my house in the early morning. I saw a White Schwert Kampfer kill a Blue Gewher. The White then attacked me, and I dealt fatal wounds to her, of which she would die later. Shortly after, I was approached by a Moderator. This Moderator did not agree with his people's methods of handling the Red and Blue fighting in their galaxy, however he cannot interfere directly. He told me I could either: become a Kampfer, destroy the system, and set the Kampfers free, or he could erase my memory and I could live a normal life."

"And you became a Kampfer, eh?" Mishima said, looking interested.

"I did; I willingly became a Green Kampfer. But, I digress; later I met up with the Kampfers from my city and assisted them in eliminating all White Kampfers from Phoenix. Towards the end of that fight, I met another rebellious Moderator, Carlisle, and his Black Kampfer. They have the same objective, and they are also the reason I am in Japan. I was invited to come and help them. They have been here for some weeks now; I have only just arrived because a few days ago I graduated from high school. But, again, I digress. Once I have myself set up, I can begin my work here."

"We have a lot in common then. We formed a permanent ceasefire in order to disrupt Moderator goings-on and rebel against them some time ago." Mikoto said.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I may be a new Kampfer, but I've been around the block a few times, and I didn't like what I saw. I'm going to end this game the Moderator's are playing, and while I'm sure Carlisle wouldn't fully approve, working separately could bode poorly for us." I stated.

"You want us to join you?" Mishima asked, a spark in her eyes.

"I ask you all to help me do this. I'll need help setting myself up now and in the future fighting the Moderators," I said. "Besides, I like you guys, and I think you'll find me somewhat worthwhile as well."

"I'm up for having a new friend!" Mikoto said excitedly. Mishima racked the slide on her pistol, Natsuru twitched a few times and rose, and Shizuku smiled.

"It's settled then. We'll help you find your way and fight the Moderators." Shizuku said.

Mishima stood. "We'll end this war and send the Moderators reeling back out into space!"


End file.
